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Modi feted in France during tense Bastille Day celebrations
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honoured during France's Bastille Day celebrations on Friday, which are taking place under tight security two weeks after riots swept the country.
Around 45,000 police are set to be deployed nationwide in the evening while firework sales have been banned as the government aims to prevent a repeat of the urban violence seen at the end of June following the police killing of a teenager.
The annual Bastille Day festivities, which mark the storming of the Bastille prison at the start of the French Revolution in 1789, kicked off with a traditional military parade in the morning that saw tanks, planes and soldiers sweep down the Champs Elysees.
Several hundred Indian soldiers took part, while three of the 36 French-made Rafale fighter jets acquired by New Delhi as part of a sweeping military overhaul also flew over Paris.
"We were able to all see a marvellous image of our cooperation on sea, land and in the skies," Modi told Macron during a joint statement by the leaders following talks at the presidential palace.
The Indian defence ministry on Thursday announced its intention to procure another 26 Rafales for use on its new aircraft carrier, as well as three more Scorpene-class submarines in a deal expected to be worth billions of euros.
Macron's red carpet welcome comes weeks after Modi was given the rare honour of a White House state dinner in Washington -- a city he was once banned from visiting.
Despite differences over the war in Ukraine and concerns over human rights in India, Western democracies are courting New Delhi as a military and economic counterweight to China.
Macron referred to a "convergence" between France and India 25 years after they first signed a strategic partnership deal.
"We defend the same idea together of the Indo-Pacific, a space that must remain open and free of all hegemonic power," he said during the press conference with Modi, in a veiled reference to Beijing.
Ahead of the parade, Macron awarded Modi the grand cross of the Legion of Honour, the country's top order of merit.
- 'Loss of confidence' -
Bastille 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.
The 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.
Some 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).
"Can 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?" far-right opposition leader Marine Le Pen said on Wednesday.
She called the government measures "an admission of a total loss of confidence in the state".
Security forces were deployed en masse ahead of Bastille Day on Thursday night which had been "relatively calm", the interior ministry said.
The main Paris fireworks display is set to go ahead on Friday evening and will be watched by Macron and Modi after they attend a banquet with 200 guests at the Louvre Museum.
- Hindu nationalism -
Amid 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.
EU parliamentarians approved a motion urging India to end violence in northeastern Manipur state and protect minorities there.
Clashes 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.
It criticised the "nationalistic rhetoric" of the local state government, run by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.
Opposition left-wing politicians in India criticised the wooing of Modi, with Socialist party boss Olivier Faure calling him a "fascistic autocrat".
The Indian leader lauded his country's economic performance under his stewardship in a speech to thousands of Indians living in France on Thursday evening and stressed the country's growing clout in global affairs.
"India is the mother of democracy and India is the model of diversity. This is a great strength of ours," he added.
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I.Altadonna--INP
