Prime Minister Modi is in France for a two-day visit. The Prime Minister was received warmly by his French counterpart Elisabeth Borne. He then joined the ranks of greats like Nelson Mandela, King Charles, former Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and Boutros Boutros-Ghali among others when he was conferred with France's highest civilian and military honour, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour.
Modi, on the day he arrived, addressed the Indian diaspora at the iconic La Seine Musicale. He was also hosted by President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron for dinner at the Elysee Palace for a private dinner. At the dinner, Modi was presented gifts holding cultural and historical linkages.
PM Modi was given a facsimile of the photograph “A Parisian presenting flowers to a Sikh”, dated July 14, 1916. The image shows a French woman giving flowers to a Sikh officer from the Indian Expeditionary Force (IEF) deployed in France. Indian soldiers had fought alongside France during World War I. At the time the picture was taken, the Battle of the Somme, in which the IEF were fighting, had already begun. The photograph was taken by a reporter from the Meurisse news agency on the Champs-Elysees during the military parade of July 14, 1916.
He was also presented with the reproduction of the Charlemagne chessmen. The set represents the Indian origins of chess and the long history of trade between India and Europe. This is also a callback to PM Modi being a chess enthusiast, who in 2010 attended the world record event for the most games of chess played simultaneously in one location, in Ahmedabad. The “Charlemagne” chessmen are stored at the Cabinet des Medailles at the National Library of France.
Modi was also presented with historic and renowned works of French literature-- Marcel Proust, Le temps retrouve (Time Regained), Pleiade and the english edition of A la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time). A la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time) is a series of novels by Marcel Proust published between 1913 and 1927.
