Paris
\nFrance\u2019s president on Friday awarded the country\u2019s top honour to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the start of Bastille Day celebrations where he is the featured guest.
\nEmmanuel Macron awarded Modi the grand cross of the Legion d\u2019Honneur (Legion of Honour), the highest grade of France\u2019s order of merit that \u201csalutes the role of the prime minister in the excellent relations of friendship and confidence that unite France and India\u201d, the presidency said in a statement.
\nModi said on Twitter that he had accepted the award \u201cwith great humility\u201d, hailing it as \u201can honour for the 1.4 billion residents of India\u201d.
\nThe honouring of Modi this year reflects deepening ties between France and India, which are marking 25 years of \u201cstrategic partnership\u201d.
\nModi called Macron his \u201cfriend\u201d in a speech to Indians living in France on Thursday evening.
\n\u201cThis closeness is not limited to just the leaders of two countries, it is in fact a reflection of the unwavering friendship between India and France,\u201d Modi said.
\nThe Indian defence ministry on Thursday announced its intention to procure another 26 French-made Rafale fighter jets as well as three more Scorpene-class submarines in a deal expected to be worth billions of euros.
\nDespite differences over the war in Ukraine and tensions over human rights in India, Western democracies are courting Modi and India as a military and economic counterweight to China.
\nMacron\u2019s red carpet welcome comes weeks after Modi was given the rare honour of a White House state dinner in Washington \u2014 a city he was once banned from visiting.
\nMacron told a meeting of military leaders on Thursday evening that India was \u201ca giant of world history which will have a decisive role for our future\u201d.
\n\u2018Loss of confidence\u2019
\nBastille Day is set to be a more sober affair than in previous years following five nights of rioting from June 27 after the fatal police shooting of a teenager in a Paris suburb.
\nThe most intense urban clashes in nearly two decades saw thousands of cars torched, public property destroyed and more than 3,700 people arrested, many of them minors.
\nSome towns have cancelled their traditional firework displays out of fear of violence, and buses and trams are to stop running in the Paris region from 10:00 pm (2000 GMT).
\n\u201cCan you believe that in the great democracy of France, we are giving up on our national day because of the fear generated by potential violence or potential riots by some people?\u201d far-right opposition leader Marine Le Pen said on Wednesday.
\nShe called the government measures \u201can admission of a total loss of confidence in the state\u201d.
\nThe main Paris fireworks display is set to go ahead and will be watched by Macron and Modi after they attend a banquet with 200 guests at the Louvre Museum.
\nHindu nationalism
\nAmid the diplomatic courting of Modi, a resolution from the European Parliament on Thursday served as a reminder that he and his Hindu nationalist agenda have garnered critics at home and abroad.
\nEU parliamentarians approved a motion urging India to end violence in northeastern Manipur state and protect minorities there.
\nClashes between the majority Meitei, who are mostly Hindus, and the mainly Christian Kuki tribe have left at least 120 people dead, 50,000 displaced and more than 1,700 houses destroyed, the parliament said.
\nIt criticised the \u201cnationalistic rhetoric\u201d of the local state government, run by Modi\u2019s Bharatiya Janata Party.
\nHonouring Modi at Bastille Day was \u201can affront not only to India\u2019s minority communities, journalists and human rights defenders, but also to India as a democracy\u201d, the text\u2019s chief negotiator, Pierre Larrouturou, said afterwards.
\nThe Indian leader lauded his country\u2019s economic performance under his stewardship in a speech to thousands of Indians living in France on Thursday evening and stressed the country\u2019s growing clout in global affairs.
\n\u201cIndia is the mother of democracy and India is the model of diversity. This is a great strength of ours,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Paris France\u2019s president on Friday awarded the country\u2019s top honour to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the start of Bastille Day celebrations where he is the featured guest. Emmanuel Macron awarded Modi the grand cross of the Legion d\u2019Honneur (Legion of Honour), the highest grade of France\u2019s order of merit that \u201csalutes the role […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343121,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-343120","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n