For President Macron, India is also important because of the focus he, like most leaders in the West, have on the Indo-Pacific. It may be recalled that after attending the G20 Summit in September 2023, President Macron went to Bangladesh to consolidate his country’s Indo-Pacific push and also counter the threat posed by China.
“Based on democratic principles and the rule of law, in a region facing new imperialism, we want to propose a third way with no intention to bully our partners or to lead them to an unsustainable scheme,” President Macron had said in Dhaka, implying China.
Paris’ concern and increasing interest in the Indo-Pacific are because there are over 2 million French people who live in the region. Out of the 2 million French nationals in the Indo-Pacific, 1.65 million live in French territories. Over 7,000 French troops are permanently posted in the Indo-Pacific within the sovereignty missions or other stationed forces.
French territories in the Indo-Pacific include Mayotte, La Reunion, the Scattered Islands, the French Southern and Antarctic Territories in the Indian Ocean, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, French Polynesia, and Clipperton Island in the Pacific.
