French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday said he wanted France to replace Britain as India’s partner in Europe. He said this in an interview with India Today ahead of his trip to India starting Friday.
The French president has been projecting his country as an investment destination in Europe since Britain decided to leave the European Union.
“Your historical partner in Europe was the UK, and I want France to become the new partner,” Macron said. “I want France to become the reference partner of the 21st century. I think India has to operate much more with Europe and the European Union as a whole. I want France to be its entry point.”
He added: “I want your creativity, your entrepreneurship, your young people to be much more present in France. And I want to see the same from the French side.”
India was the third-largest source of foreign direct investment into Britain in 2015, reported Reuters, quoting official figures. However, India was only the 30th largest investor in France, according to figures from the Bank of France in 2013.
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