On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron jointly inaugurated the Indian Consulate in Marseilles. Before the opening ceremony, both leaders were greeted with the sound of traditional dhol drums. The two leaders also met and engaged with members of the Indian diaspora.

"After the CEOs' Forum, PM Modi and Macron travelled together to Marseilles in the French Presidential aircraft, showing exceptional gesture by Macron. It is emblematic not only of the deep personal trust between the two leaders, but also of the remarkable confidence that they have in each other and that really characterises the relationship as well," Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri remarked in a Special briefing by the Ministry of External Affairs on PM's visit to France. Misri said that the two leaders also had discussions while on the aircraft, strengthening the relationship between their countries even further.

"PM Modi and Macron held discussions on board the aircraft and one could say that India-France relations touched new heights, literally! These discussions on board the aircraft were on a number of issues continued upon landing in Marseilles where the two leaders were joined by their larger delegations and the discussions took place over the course of dinner that was hosted by Macron in honour of PM Modi. These discussions covered the entire gamut of our deep and diverse strategic partnership. The two leaders reviewed progress in the areas of defence, in the area of space, civil nuclear cooperation, and in the areas of health, as well as people-to-people cooperation between the two sides," said Misri.

Misri mentioned that the two leaders praised the recent progress made in following the Horizon 2047 Roadmap. "The two leaders appreciated recent progress that has taken place in all of these areas. In keeping with both the Horizon 2047 Roadmap and in the defence areas in particular," he said.

According to Misri, PM Modi's visit consisted of two parts- the bilateral component and the Al Summit. He said, "President Macron visited India last year at the 75th Republic Day on 26th January as the chief guest... The current visit of the Prime Minister has two components as you are aware, he was here to co-chair the Artificial Intelligence (Al) Action Summit in Paris yesterday and then there was a bilateral component to the visit both in Paris and in Marseille yesterday as well as today. The last couple of days have been packed with a number of engagements... Prime Minister met with the Vice President of the United States JD Vance." 

Notably, both leaders discussed important areas like defence, space, civil nuclear cooperation, healthcare, and cultural exchanges. As a result of their talks, France agreed to support Indian startups by hosting them at its well-known startup incubator, Station F. "These discussions covered the entire gamut of our deep and diverse strategic partnership. The two leaders reviewed progress in the areas of defence, in the area of space, civil nuclear corporation and in the areas of health as well as people-to-people corporation between the two sides. There is an outcome document that is being circulated for the details you can refer to that." Misri said. 

Both countries expressed their support for the addition of 10 Indian startups to the French Startup Incubator, Station F. They also welcomed the expanded opportunity to use India's real-time payment system, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), in France, as mentioned in a joint statement. Vikram Misri emphasised that the bilateral discussions were majorly focused on Al. "Next year 2026 has been agreed as the India- France year of innovation," Misri said. Both leaders also announced that the India-France Year of Innovation will be grandly inaugurated in New Delhi in March 2026 with the launch of its logo.

The discussions led to important developments in civil nuclear energy. Both leaders welcomed the first meeting of the Special Task Force on Civil Nuclear Energy. They also acknowledged the signing of a letter of intent for collaboration on Small Modular Reactors (SMR) and Advanced Modular Reactors (AMR). Additionally, they appreciated the Implementing Agreement between India's GCNEP (DAE) and France's INSTN (CEA) to enhance cooperation in training and educating nuclear professionals, as stated in the joint statement.

"In the area of civil nuclear energy cooperation, the two sides have concluded a declaration of intent on collaboration in co-designing, co-developing and co-producing small modular reactors and advanced modular reactors. The two sides will also be cooperating in the field of capacity building of researchers and professionals in this field. Given the coming revolution in Al and the demands that it will make on the energy sector, this particular area of cooperation and development of SMRs and AMRs is a particularly promising vector for India-France cooperation in the future," Misri said.

India and France have renewed their agreement between the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), India, and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) to continue cooperation with the Global Center for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP). Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed their satisfaction with the ongoing collaboration in areas such as health, culture, tourism, and education. They also emphasized strengthening ties between people. Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepening their partnership in the Indo-Pacific region and working together on global platforms and initiatives, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) statement.