Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France to participate in the Bastille Day parade is seen as a significant milestone in Indo-France relations. Bastille Day is celebrated as a national holiday in France on July 14th every year. On this day in 1789, the citizens of Paris revolted against Emperor Louis XVI, stormed the prison-fortress Bastille, and released all political prisoners.

This uprising facilitated the abolition of feudalism in France and led to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. This earned France the reputation of “Les Pays des Droits de l’Homme” or “Land of Human Rights”. This gave rise to the concept of “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity” which many countries, including India, adopted as sacred principles after their emergence as independent republics.

If France and India work together, it will also be important to approach this relationship based on shared values. Freedom means that nations enjoy the freedom not to be forced to decide on which side they stand and what is in their national interest. It’s called “strategic autonomy”. India has steadfastly supported this principle at home relations with different countries.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited Beijing in April this year, referred to this principle in media interviews. In an uncharacteristically candid conversation, he hinted that Europe was “engaged in a crisis that is not ours” and lamented that Europe’s “building of strategic autonomy” was being hindered.

President Macron even called it “the worst thing” that Europeans think they “have to follow US policy”. Later, at a joint press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the NATO allies went a step further, stating that “being an ally does not mean being a vassal.”

Strategic autonomy brings closer ties between India and France. The French also don’t like to be dictated by others. In 1998, when the West fought to impose sanctions on India for its bravery in testing nuclear weapons, France stood out. President Jacques Chirac refused to punish India for the inspection, instead allowing Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s special envoy, Brajesh Mishra, to listen patiently. He even said it was “abnormal” to exclude India from the global nuclear order.

India and France became “strategic partners” in the same year. France became the first country to sign an agreement to supply nuclear reactors to India in 2008. As Prime Minister Modi aptly put it, India-France relations continued to develop on many fronts, “from undersea to outer space.” Macron went so far as to say that the “worst thing” for Europeans is that they “have to be influenced by US policy.” Later, at a joint press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the NATO allies went a step further, stating that “being an ally does not mean being a vassal.”

Strategic autonomy brings closer ties between India and France. The French also don’t like to be dictated by others. In 1998, when the West fought to impose sanctions on India for its bravery in testing nuclear weapons, France stood out. President Jacques Chirac refused to punish India for the inspection, instead allowing Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s special envoy, Brajesh Mishra, to listen patiently. He even said it was “abnormal” to exclude India from the global nuclear order.

India and France became “strategic partners” in the same year. France became the first country to sign an agreement to supply nuclear reactors to India in 2008. As Prime Minister Modi aptly put it, India-France relations continued to develop on many fronts, “from undersea to outer space.”

Strategic autonomy requires recognition of two key principles. First, the world must accept that ‘multipolarization’ is a reality. Some Western intellectuals are clearly uncomfortable with accepting that the world is being reshaped into multiple states, non-states, and smaller powers emerging as independent poles.

In a multipolar world order, all nations command and demand dignity. This makes the “sovereign equality” of nations her second most important principle. It is heartwarming that the French leadership has described its bilateral relationship with India as an “equal partnership”.

The world’s two greatest powers today, the United States and China, are accustomed to the politics of allies and supporters. China has a historical syndrome called “China” or “Middle Kingdom”. It used to be just a geographical concept of being at the center of the world.

However, it has taken on the political implications of China occupying the position of an intermediate kingdom between the heavens above and the lesser states of the world below. U.S. leaders also display this sense of superiority from time to time. George Bush’s infamous “either you are with me or you are against me” embodied this idea.

India defends the dignity of the developing world by speaking up for the Global South. Even that proposal is unacceptable to some leaders who argue that there is no so-called global South.

The Global South is not just a geographical or economic concept. In the next five to ten years, at least two of the world’s four major economies, India and Indonesia, will become countries in the Global South. It is a combination of political, geopolitical and economic parameters common to countries in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Pacific. For example, most countries in the Global South were colonies in the Global North. Anti-colonialism and decolonization are commonalities of the global South.

India’s commitment to the African cause and the call to invite the African Union as a member of the G20 are part of the Global South Campaign. Parts of Africa were under French influence. The French government’s focus on West Asia includes countries in the Middle East as well as East Africa, a region traditionally influenced by India. India and France can cooperate in both regions.

Similarly, India’s role as a network peacemaker in the Indo-Pacific can be strengthened through bilateral engagement with France. France considered itself a NATO or European power, but it is also a power in the Indian Ocean region. There are islands such as Réunion in the Mascarene Islands, Mayotte in the Comoros, and Aires Epulses in the Mozambique Channel. In addition to leased ports in Abu Dhabi, Dakar and Djibouti, the company has several naval bases in IOR.

Modi touched on all these aspects during his visit to France, but the media emphasized defense and other economic ties. In the 25th year of their strategic partnership, the two sides unveiled their vision for the future with ‘Horizon 2047′.

Horizon 2047 gained momentum with Prime Minister Modi’s involvement with diaspora in Paris. Diaspora activism is nothing new for the French. Chinese and North Africans, Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians play an active role in French civic life. Modi’s efforts could push diaspora Indians into activist mode and help the bilateral partnership reach Horizon 2047 goals faster.