ID :
70253
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 12:47
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/70253
The shortlink copeid
PM to be Chief Guest at French National Day
V Mohan Narayan
Paris, Jul 13 (PTI) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
will be the Chief Guest at the French National Day here
Tuesday when a contingent of Indian soldiers would parade
along with French troops, symbolising a special honour for
India.
Singh will be the first Indian leader to be the Chief
Guest at the celebrations of France, which occasionally
invites foreign Heads of Government or State and does not have
such an annual tradition unlike India.
Leaving for Paris to attend the French celebrations at
the invitation of President Nicolas Sarkozy, Singh said it was
"an honour for the people of India."
"India and France enjoy a close and wide ranging
strategic partnership. Our relations with France encompass a
large number of areas and have served our national interests
well," he said in his departure statement.
Sarkozy was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day last
year and his invitation to Singh is a reciprocal gesture.
A contingent of 400 soldiers from the three Defence
Services of India will also parade down the 1.5-km stretch of
Champs Elysees, along with French soldiers to the sound of
Indian martial music played by a 90-member military band.
Sarkozy's office said the invitation to Indian troops to
participate in French celebrations was a testimony of Paris'
belief that "India has a primary role on the international
scene, and that we support India's candidacy to become a UN
Security Council permanent member."
French Defence Ministry spokesman Laurent Teisseire
said the invitation to Indian soldiers to take part in the
celebrations shows that Paris wants to emphasise its close
relations with India, AFP reported.
Participation by Indian troops in the celebrations will
mark the commemoration of Indian army's association with its
French counterpart during the two World Wars.
Under the British command, Indian soldiers along with
the French forces as part of two Allied Divisions fought the
Germans in the northern French town of Neuve-Chapelle in March
1915.
Bastille Day, as the French National Day is called,
commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison by the
people, which took place on July 14, 1789 and marked the
beginning of the French Revolution.
The Bastille prison symbolised absolute and arbitrary
power of Louis XVI's ancient regime. With the capture of
Bastille, people sent out a strong signal that the King's
power was no longer absolute.
Though only seven prisoners were lodged in Bastille when
it was taken over, the event became a symbol of liberty and
the fight against oppression for all French citizens and
marked the end of absolute monarchy and emergence of a
sovereign nation and subsequently the creation of a Republic
in 1792.
Bastille Day was declared as a French national holiday
on July 6, 1880, on the recommendation of revolutionary
Benjamin Raspail. PTI
Paris, Jul 13 (PTI) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
will be the Chief Guest at the French National Day here
Tuesday when a contingent of Indian soldiers would parade
along with French troops, symbolising a special honour for
India.
Singh will be the first Indian leader to be the Chief
Guest at the celebrations of France, which occasionally
invites foreign Heads of Government or State and does not have
such an annual tradition unlike India.
Leaving for Paris to attend the French celebrations at
the invitation of President Nicolas Sarkozy, Singh said it was
"an honour for the people of India."
"India and France enjoy a close and wide ranging
strategic partnership. Our relations with France encompass a
large number of areas and have served our national interests
well," he said in his departure statement.
Sarkozy was the Chief Guest at the Republic Day last
year and his invitation to Singh is a reciprocal gesture.
A contingent of 400 soldiers from the three Defence
Services of India will also parade down the 1.5-km stretch of
Champs Elysees, along with French soldiers to the sound of
Indian martial music played by a 90-member military band.
Sarkozy's office said the invitation to Indian troops to
participate in French celebrations was a testimony of Paris'
belief that "India has a primary role on the international
scene, and that we support India's candidacy to become a UN
Security Council permanent member."
French Defence Ministry spokesman Laurent Teisseire
said the invitation to Indian soldiers to take part in the
celebrations shows that Paris wants to emphasise its close
relations with India, AFP reported.
Participation by Indian troops in the celebrations will
mark the commemoration of Indian army's association with its
French counterpart during the two World Wars.
Under the British command, Indian soldiers along with
the French forces as part of two Allied Divisions fought the
Germans in the northern French town of Neuve-Chapelle in March
1915.
Bastille Day, as the French National Day is called,
commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison by the
people, which took place on July 14, 1789 and marked the
beginning of the French Revolution.
The Bastille prison symbolised absolute and arbitrary
power of Louis XVI's ancient regime. With the capture of
Bastille, people sent out a strong signal that the King's
power was no longer absolute.
Though only seven prisoners were lodged in Bastille when
it was taken over, the event became a symbol of liberty and
the fight against oppression for all French citizens and
marked the end of absolute monarchy and emergence of a
sovereign nation and subsequently the creation of a Republic
in 1792.
Bastille Day was declared as a French national holiday
on July 6, 1880, on the recommendation of revolutionary
Benjamin Raspail. PTI
