French President Emmanuel Macron gave a farewell message for Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an unusual personal gesture, delivering part of his farewell message in Hindi, a rare move by a foreign leader that drew attention.In a video recorded at the conclusion of the visit, Macron addressed the Prime Minister in Hindi, saying, “Priya mitra Narendra, mujhe bahut khushi hai, daure ke liye swagat karte, France Bharat ki dosti amar rahe.” He then smiled and added, “I hope it was correct.”The remarks, translate to “Dear friend Narendra, I am very happy, welcome for the visit, may the friendship between France and India remain eternal.”Macron then switched to English and thanked PM Modi for the visit, describing it as productive and expressing hope of meeting him again soon. “Priye mitr Narendra Modi. Thank you for your visit. Thank you for our friendship. It was a very fruitful visit. France loves you. We are looking forward to seeing you again soon, in February. Jai Hind,” the French President said.The message followed two days of engagements around the G7 Summit, where PM Modi took part in discussions and held bilateral meetings with several world leaders, including US President Donald Trump.A key meeting during the visit took place on June 14 at Villa Kerylos in Nice between the Prime Minister and Macron. It was their first bilateral interaction since India and France upgraded ties to a ‘Special Global Strategic Partnership’ earlier this year.The two leaders reviewed cooperation in defence, technology, space and economic sectors. They noted progress in defence collaboration and agreed to expand cooperation through joint design, development and production of defence platforms and technologies.They also discussed deeper cooperation in the space sector, including human spaceflight, space situational awareness and greater private sector participation.Meanwhile, earlier on Saturday, PM Modi and Macron visited VivaTech 2026, where they interacted with startups and explored developments in artificial intelligence, deep technology, mobility and other emerging areas.
