NEWDELHI, Jan 25, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - President Emmanuel Macron arrives as the
guest of honour in India on Thursday with a sumptuous palace feast and
colourful military parade, as France eyes lucrative deals with the world's
fifth-biggest economy.

Macron will be offered a red carpet welcome by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
with dinner in a 19th-century maharaja's palace, and as chief guest at a
military march past with massed ranks of tanks, dancing troupes, camel
cavalry and a fighter jet fly-past.

India's foreign ministry says New Delhi and Paris are "strategic partners",
while the French presidency says the trip will "consolidate and deepen
diplomatic and economic relations".

Despite concerns over human rights, differences over the war in Ukraine and
close ties with Moscow -- India's key military supplier -- Western
democracies are courting New Delhi as a military and economic counterweight
to China.

France hopes to build on its military contracts after the Indian defence
ministry purchased French-made Rafale fighter jets and Scorpene-class
submarines in multibillion-dollar deals.

Macron -- who, according to Indian media, is coming after US President Joe
Biden was unable to take up an invite -- is also hoping France can sell six
EPR nuclear reactors.

- 'Peace and security' –

Modi was guest of honour at France's annual Bastille Day celebrations last
July, and Macron is set to receive a similar welcome.

The French president, who was in India for the G20 summit in September,
travels first to Jaipur in Rajasthan state for dinner with Modi at the
Rambagh Palace, a luxury hotel.

Paris and New Delhi collaborate on space and satellite technology, and the
French delegation includes astronaut Thomas Pesquet.

The visit includes a stop at Jaipur's 18th-century Jantar Mantar astronomical
observation site.

On Friday, Macron will watch a military parade in New Delhi for Republic Day,
the 75th anniversary of India's constitution.

Just as Indian soldiers marched down the streets of Paris in 2023, a French
contingent will join the military spectacle in New Delhi, as French-built
jets roar overhead.

India is "a key partner in contributing to international peace and security",
the French presidency said ahead of the visit.

Last year Macron visited neighbouring Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and also took
a Pacific trip aimed at "recommitting" France to the wider Asia-Pacific
region.