Bastille Day: Macron tries to woo India's Modi, despite human rights concerns

France is looking to further strengthen cooperation with New Delhi on an array of topics ranging from climate to military sales and the strategic Indo-Pacific region. 

But human rights, seen as an increasingly pressing subject in India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was missing from the vast agenda.

President Emmanuel Macron praised India in a speech Thursday evening in front of defence officials as a “key partner" in France's "future". 

"It is a giant in the history of the world that will have a determining role in our future," he said ahead of a dinner with Modi at the Elysee Palace, calling India “a strategic partner and friend.”

Macron, with Modi at his side, will preside over Friday’s grandiose annual military parade to mark France’s national day. Indian troops will march and three French-made Indian Rafale jets will do a fly-by.

As Modi arrived Thursday, India's Defense Acquisition Council approved the purchase of 26 Rafales for the Indian Navy. The price is to be negotiated with the French, a statement said. 

The purchase of three Scorpene submarines, developed by France and Spain, was also green-lit. 

Critics have voiced concern about France giving such a platform to Modi. India's 72-year-old prime minister is widely viewed as increasingly authoritarian and his Hindu nationalist party as divisive. 

In a report in April, the campaign group Amnesty International said freedom of expression had declined under the Indian PM. 

The European Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday for “human rights to be integrated into all areas of the EU-India partnership, including in trade.” The resolution called on member states “to systematically and publicly raise human rights concerns” at the highest level.

Modi’s two-day visit