India’s ‘rich civilisation’ and ‘soft power’: Modi gives rare interview to French paper Les Echos

The prime minister who famously refuses to hold a press conference at home gave a long interview to a French business newspaper. Le Echos published the interview with Narendra Modi on its front page today, noting that it sat down with the PM in his “modern” home in Delhi.

Modi is scheduled to visit France today and tomorrow.

The interview is in French, but the government of India helpfully published the full transcript of the interview in English on its website. Modi was quizzed on hard-hitting topics like India “gaining its rightful position in the world”, “the pillars of India’s soft power”, India as the “natural leader of the Global South”, and India’s vision for 2047.

In other words, a fairly tame interview that gave Modi a chance to wax eloquent.

On “aggressive” China and what India expects of France, Modi said, “Our partnership, including in the Indo Pacific region, is not directed against, or at the expense of any country...More broadly, we aim to advance peace and stability in the region.”

When asked if India will “firm up its stance” on the Ukraine war, Modi said, “India’s stand has been clear, transparent and consistent. I have said that it is not an era of war. We have urged both sides to resolve issues through dialogue and diplomacy.”

Other questions included one on India being the most populous country in the world. Modi responded that India is a “rich civilisation that is thousands of years old” whose “strongest asset is our youth”. “As the world’s largest democracy, with unparalleled social and economic diversity, our success will demonstrate that democracy delivers.”

He also said India’s “exports” include yoga, ayurveda, spirituality, science, mathematics and astronomy. 

In case you’re curious, Le Echos is owned by LMVH, a luxury goods conglomerate that includes Louis Vuitton. It’s unclear how or why the decision was made to select Le Echos for the interview, over the more famous French newspaper Le Monde. The interview is already being widely tweeted by the BJP on social media.

Modi had also been pushed to give a rare press conference when he visited the United States in June. The Indian side was reportedly “reluctant” but finally agreed that Modi would answer two questions. He also gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal which noted that the prime minister “gives many speeches but fewer news conferences and interviews”.

Back in India, he’s been accused of only giving scripted interviews to friendly news channels.