Speaker Devnani’s Visit to France Highlights Growing India-France Strategic and Cultural Ties

Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Shri Vasudev Devnani emphasized that the long-standing and multi-dimensional strategic partnership between India and France has deepened the shared values of liberty, equality, and fraternity in both nations. During his official visit to Paris, he toured key parliamentary and administrative institutions, including the French National Assembly, and held extensive interactions with French MPs.

Speaker Devnani met with Mr. Thierry Tesson, a senior MP and Chair of the France-India Friendship Group, along with other French delegates. He noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar have consistently called for global consensus and cooperation on counter-terrorism. Highlighting PM Modi’s visit to France from February 10–12, 2025, Devnani said 10 important MoUs were signed between the two countries, covering areas such as nuclear energy and artificial intelligence (AI).

Devnani shared that over 10,000 Indian students are currently studying in France, and both nations have now agreed to raise this number to 30,000 in the coming years. His discussions with the France-India Parliamentary Friendship Group focused on strategic cooperation, joint counter-terrorism strategies, digital technology, smart cities, cultural and educational exchanges, nuclear energy, and modular reactors.

He noted that since 1998, India and France’s strategic partnership has evolved into a robust, multi-sectoral collaboration covering defense, cyber security, nuclear energy, space research, and counter-terrorism.

The Speaker highlighted the significance of India’s April 2025 agreement to acquire 26 Rafale fighter jets, showcasing growing defense cooperation. He also pointed out the importance of joint military exercises regularly conducted between the two countries, strengthening operational coordination.

Speaker Devnani praised the MoUs signed in areas such as Smart Cities, Indo-Pacific corridors, environmental initiatives (INS, ISA, CDRI), start-ups, and digital innovation, saying they reflect India’s technology-driven growth strategy on the global stage. He also emphasized joint collaboration on emerging AI technologies and small modular reactors (SMRs), which are crucial for green energy and future energy security.

Touching upon educational and cultural exchange, Devnani linked the 1789 French Revolution’s ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity with India’s freedom movement and Constitution, calling it a shared heritage of both nations.

Through this visit, Devnani not only represented Rajasthan’s cultural richness and India’s democratic ethos, but also contributed significantly to strengthening India-France bilateral relations.

He also observed France’s demographic diversity, which includes native French citizens as well as North African, Sub-Saharan African, Asian, and European communities. He praised the French constitutional principle of Laïcité (secularism) and its efforts to maintain harmony among followers of Christianity (primarily Roman Catholicism), Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and a growing non-religious population.

Devnani studied the structure of France’s semi-presidential republic, where the President is directly elected, the Prime Minister is appointed by the President, and the bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate and National Assembly. He found the Napoleonic Civil Code-based legal system and free multi-party democratic structure to be inspiring and reflective of democratic traditions akin to India’s.

During his visit, Speaker Devnani also interacted with French lawmakers, academics, and members of the Indian diaspora, aiming to give a new impetus to India-France cooperation in education, science, technology, and parliamentary exchange.