Modi Heads to France Today for High Stakes G7 Summit, Eyes Rafale and Nuclear Deals With Macron

Prime Minister Narendra Modi departs for France on Saturday, beginning a packed week long Europe tour that will take him to Nice, Slovakia, Evian and Paris , with defence and civil nuclear cooperation expected to dominate his bilateral with French President Emmanuel Macron. The visit marks Modi’s seventh official trip to France and comes months after the two countries elevated ties to a Special Global Strategic Partnership in February this year, when Macron travelled to Mumbai for the AI Impact Summit .

The first leg takes Modi to Nice (June 13-14) , where he and Macron will hold wide ranging talks and jointly inaugurate Bharat Innovates 2026 , a flagship event under the India France Year of Innovation that will bring together startups and venture capital funds from both countries.

On the defence front , fresh signals from Paris suggest the Multi Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) project is gaining momentum, with French sources indicating comfort with technology transfer for Rafale jets and integration of Indian developed weapon systems onto the aircraft, a major boost for the Make in India push . Of the planned 114 Rafales , 18 are expected in fly away condition from Dassault Aviation, while the rest will be built in India with around 50 per cent indigenous content .

Civil nuclear energy is also set for a major push, with French firms eyeing opportunities under India’s newly enacted SHANTI legislation . New Delhi is targeting a jump from 8.78 GW to 100 GW nuclear capacity by 2047, with around a dozen bilateral initiatives expected during the visit.

From Nice, Modi travels to Slovakia (June 14-16) for a historic state visit , the first by an Indian Prime Minister since 1993, where he will meet Prime Minister Robert Fico and President Peter Pellegrini. He then returns to France for the G7 outreach sessions in Evian (June 16-18) , focusing on the Global South concerns and discussions on the West Asia conflict and energy security. A possible meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines is also being explored.

The final leg takes Modi to Paris on June 18 for VivaTech 2026 , Europe’s largest tech and startup event, where India is the AI Country Partner. He is expected to unveil India’s MANAV framework for AI governance, showcasing one of the largest national pavilions in the event’s history.