SUPPORTERS OF STRATEGIC AUTONOMY

 

  • The Prime Minister’s participation in the Bastille Day parade in France will be remembered as a significant turning point in Indo-French ties.

Every year on July 14th, Bastille Day is observed as France’s National Day.

 

GSPREP ON THE ISSUE

France-India relations:

 

What are the main areas where the two countries cooperate?

  • Defence: From 2017 to 2021, France will be the second-largest defence provider.
  • Economic Cooperation: With yearly commerce of USD 12.42(twelve point four two) billion in 2021–2022 France has become one of India’s most important commercial partners.
  • Cooperation in Civil Nuclear Matters: France was one of the first nations with whom India inked a civil nuclear agreement.
  • Collaboration in International Fora: France backs India’s application for permanent membership in the UN Security Council and for participation in the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

India has backed France in the Paris Agreement as a sign of its steadfast commitment to reducing the effects of climate change.

o In 2015, both nations established the International Solar Alliance as a part of their cooperative efforts to combat climate change.

  • Joint Strategic Vision of India-France Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region, which provides a roadmap for enhancing ties in the maritime sector.
  • Space collaboration: India and France have maintained and improved their space collaboration.

o Joint Working Group of ISRO and CNES

 

Cooperative Mars Mission

o Joint Work on Space Debris

JEM, the Joint Earth Observation Mission

 

 

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BASTILLE DAY

 

  • On this date in 1789, the people of Paris rose up in a revolution against Emperor Louis XVI, stormed the Bastille, and freed all political prisoners.
  • This uprising sparked France’s decision to abolish feudalism, which resulted in the “Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen”.
  • It earned France the reputation of being the “land of human rights,” or Les Pays Des Droits De L’Homme.
  • After becoming independent republics, many nations, including India, embraced the ideas of “liberty, equality, and fraternity” as hallowed ideals.

 

Strategic independence between France and India:

  • France stood out in 1998 when Western nations competed to impose sanctions on India for the audacity to test nuclear weapons.

France stated that leaving India out of the global nuclear order was a “anomaly”.

  • In 2008, France was the first nation to sign the contract for India to receive nuclear reactors.
  • Relations between India and France grew in a number of areas, “from the seabed to space.

 

Important guidelines for strategic independence:

  • “Multipolarity” is a fact that the entire globe must acknowledge.

o The idea that the globe has been reorganised into numerous state, non-state, and minilateral powers that have formed as autonomous poles causes discomfort in some segments of the Western intelligentsia.

  • Sovereign equality: All nations command and deserve dignity in a multipolar world system.

 

India In the Global South:

  • By referencing the Global South, India is advancing the cause of the dignity of the developing globe.
  • At least two of the four largest economies in the world in the coming ten years—India and Indonesia—will come from the Global South.
  • It combines factors that are common to nations in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific in terms of politics, geopolitics, and economics.
  • As an illustration, the majority of the nations in the Global South were colonies of the Global North.
  • The Global South shares a common interest in anti- and decolonialism.
  • As part of its Global South campaign, India is advocating for Africa and calling for the African Union to be invited to join the G-20.
  • The Middle Eastern nations and East African nations, which have historically been under Indian influence, are included in the French government’s focus on West Asia.

o France and India can cooperate in both areas.

  • India’s bilateral relationship with France can strengthen its position as a net promoter of peace in the Indo-Pacific.

 

Way ahead

  • Although France regarded itself as a NATO or European force, it also plays a significant role in the Indian Ocean region.

It has island nations such as

In the Mascarene Archipelago, a reunion

The Comoros Archipelago’s Mayotte

In the Mozambique Channel, Iles Disappear.

  • In addition to leased ports in Abu Dhabi, Dakar, and Djibouti, it possesses a few naval stations in the IOR.

During his visit to France, the PM discussed all of these topics, despite the media’s focus on defence and other economic ties.

  • On the 25th anniversary of their strategic alliance, the two parties unveiled “Horizon 2047” as their roadmap for the future.

o The PM’s interaction with the Indian community in Paris helped Horizon 2047.

  • The Algerians, Moroccans, and Tunisians, as well as the Chinese, are active participants in French public life.

o The Indian diaspora may become more activist as a result of the PM’s efforts, accelerating the bilateral partnership’s progress towards Horizon 2047’s objectives.