"I think both of us are very reliable to each other. And there is a personal chemistry. And in crazy times, it's very useful. What I like is that he's very proud of his country," said President Emmanuel Macron in an exclusive conversation to Brut. Catch the full interview here.
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00:00I look at you or you just me. Okay. Are we ready to roll? Are we good? We're good.
00:06Good. Okay, we're rolling. President Emmanuel Macron, welcome to India. And thank you for
00:11speaking to Brut. France has the youngest president in its history. You were 39. When
00:17you took over, you've just appointed the youngest Prime Minister, who's 34. What are the upsides
00:24and the downsides, if any, of being a young head of state?
00:29I have to confess that I'm less young now. This is my second term. So I hope to
00:37be a little bit younger game. But definitely, I'm much more experienced. I at that time,
00:44I had probably a lack of experience, but a lot of energy and project for France. I learned a lot.
00:50And this is why I decided to serve my country for a second mandate. And I'm very, very happy.
00:55But I think one of the strengths of your country is clearly its youth. You have so many young
01:04people in a vibrant society, with a lot of creativity, with a number of talents in arts,
01:12in science, in all the different fields. And you have very good and better and better educational
01:19system, which makes India very impressive. And this is why coming here once again, and having
01:27some other discussion with Prime Minister Modi, one of the key points I want to develop is indeed
01:31the relationship with Indian youth, and to encourage and convince young people and students
01:41to come to Paris. Speaking of Mr. Modi, we've seen warm hugs and firm handshakes
01:46whenever you've met the Prime Minister. What is it about Prime Minister Modi
01:51that makes the camaraderie that you have with him work?
01:54Look, I think we met the very first time a few weeks after my first election. He came to Paris,
02:01and we had permanent contacts and discussions together. We managed to develop in different
02:06fields, very strong cooperation. And I think both of us are very reliable to each other.
02:12And there is a personal chemistry. And in that crazy times, it's very useful, I can tell you.
02:20And what I like is that he's very proud of his country. So Making India is a very strong program.
02:30And we managed to launch a series of very strong program in defense, space, energy,
02:36technology, and digital arts. And in all the different fields, we work very closely together.
02:44And there is a reciprocal respect. And I think it's very important.
02:50What is it about India that makes it an attractive economic and strategic partner for France?
02:58Look, India is absolutely unique for us because we have here a great and historical partner.
03:06Second, this is a huge, this is the biggest democracy of the world. We have a lot of,
03:13I mean, we have a very special relationship due to this creativity we do share together.
03:18And I think I launched this Indo-Pacific strategy six years ago. And I see I launched it here
03:25in India. And I think your country is very unique in the way to understand all the different
03:33balances and equilibrium of the whole region. This is why it's so important.
03:38And being here for me, it's first recognizing the importance of your art, your tradition,
03:45your heritage. So we will, for instance, we will build a partnership between Carcassonne
03:52and Amberfort here for common work on heritage and art. We will have a very important exhibition
04:00in 2028 of arts and Indian arts and museum in France, in Paris. We will have next year,
04:09a very important exhibition of craftsmanship of India. And we want to work and develop
04:15very close links to recognize craftsmanship on both sides and have common training programs.
04:22And what we launched, and this is my main message for young people here. We want to have 30,000
04:28students in France coming from India by 2030. If we can have the 30,000 students even in two
04:37years time, I would be the happiest president. So come to France to study in all the different
04:44big cities, all the different places. Because I think this is the key entry point for a new
04:50language. This is a key entry point for not just Europe, but Europe and Africa. And I think this
04:55is unique. And we are developing a series of programs. For instance, we have accelerated visa
05:01for former students. So when you study in France, you will have accelerated visa to work, to stay,
05:08to create in France afterwards. So it's very unique. Of course. And I mean, it's part of the
05:14cooperation we want. Space is one of the new frontier between India and France. And we will
05:20work very closely together. The last time you were here and with the first lady, you went to
05:25the Taj Mahal. Care to settle the Eiffel Tower versus Taj Mahal debate once and for all? Which,
05:30in your opinion, is the more romantic place for a proposal? It's very hard to say because
05:38probably the more, when it's more exotic for you, it's more romantic as well. So Taj Mahal,
05:44definitely. I live in front of the Eiffel Tower, so it's probably less exceptional for me.
05:53But I would be very happy to invite Indian people to come to Paris for a romantic moment
06:00at the Eiffel Tower. You've balanced both somehow. Thank you so much,
06:04President, for talking to us. Thank you. Let me just add one word, perhaps, if I may,
06:08to wish all of you a happy Republic Day. Oh, thank you. I will be with you tomorrow, but
06:14I wanted to pass this message to you and all the viewers. Thank you so much.