India and France are rapidly expanding economic ties, with bilateral trade more than doubling over the past decade to reach €12.67 billion in 2024–25.
Within the European Union, France is India’s third-largest trading partner. French cumulative investment in India stands at €9.79 billion (April 2000-March 2025), spanning services, cement, aviation, energy and manufacturing. Notably, 38 out of the 40 most prominent French companies have established operations in India.
The expected India-EU Free Trade Agreement, signed in January 2026, is projected to further accelerate trade flows.
Digital cooperation has emerged as a new frontier. During Prime Minister Modi’s 2023 Paris visit, NPCI International Payments Limited and France’s Lyra Collect signed an agreement to implement UPI in France. UPI went live at the Eiffel Tower in January 2024, making it the first merchant location in France to accept the Indian payment system. It has since expanded to Galeries Lafayette and La Vallée Village.
Both countries are collaborating on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) through platforms such as InFraStructures and InFinity, and Indian startups are participating in incubation programmes at Station F in Paris.
Station F is a large startup campus/incubator in Paris—a place where startups get workspace plus accelerator/incubation programs, mentors, corporate partners, investors, and events. It’s known for hosting around 1,000 startups under one roof and for running (and hosting) many structured incubation/acceleration programs. It’s called “Station F” because it’s housed in a former rail-freight building (La Halle Freyssinet), and the “F” references “Freyssinet.”
Energy cooperation is another key driver. France is co-chairing the International Solar Alliance (2024-26), originally launched by India and France at COP21 in Paris in 2015. The two countries are also advancing cooperation in green hydrogen, civil nuclear energy, including the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project, and small modular reactors.
With strong people-to-people ties – including nearly 10,000 Indian students in France and a diaspora of over 100,000 in mainland France – the relationship has broadened well beyond traditional diplomacy.
As India and France align their ambitions through Horizon 2047, the partnership is evolving into a comprehensive strategic alliance spanning defence, technology, sustainability, trade and global governance – positioning both nations as key players in shaping the 21st-century order.
