Other States - Puducherry   

French envoy enamoured with Puducherry

— Photo: Special Arrangement

Impressed: Ambassador of France in India Jerome Bonnafont and Consul-General of France in Puducherry and Chennai Joelle Rayet taking a look at the memento presented by Chief Minister N. Rangasamy.

PUDUCHERRY: When Ambassador of France in India Jerome Bonnafont, along with Consul-General of France in Puducherry and Chennai Joelle Rayet, entered Chief Minister N. Rangasamy’s office in the Assembly Complex, he did not hesitate to speak his mind.

Making it clear that he was enamoured with this part of the country, he said, “Very nice, absolutely beautiful and excellent,” referring to the ‘ponnadai’ and memento presented to him by the Chief Minister.

Recalling his foray in India 20 years ago as a French diplomat, he spoke fondly of meeting then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, on a couple of occasions. He described Mr. Gandhi as a “very remarkable person.”

Mr. Bonnafant did not fail to convey the special message he had brought from President Nicolas Sarkozy to the people of the Union Territory: “Since his childhood, the President has been dreaming of visiting Puducherry. He hopes to see the town on some day. He has also sent his warm wishes and regards to the people of the Union Territory.”

Referring to the honour conferred on Mr. Sarkozy by inviting him to participate in the Republic Day celebrations as chief guest, the Ambassador said the French President had also made it clear that France wanted India to become its best friend.

Mr. Bonnafont expressed satisfaction over the excellent spirit of cooperation between Puducherry and French authorities in maintaining cultural and economic ties. “For the future, we want Puducherry to be more attractive for French investors, and we want the French companies to know that the people in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are excellent that they can invest in these beautiful lands.”

Addressing a press conference, the Ambassador appreciated questions from the media about the ‘Order of Arts et Letters’ conferred on Hindi film actor Shah Rukh Khan. Will this gesture be extended to stars of regional films? Pat came the reply: “Bollywood is very popular in France. Tamil Nadu’s Kollywood has not yet become that famous. But, you can suggest the names of the film personalities for the award.”

Mr. Bonnafont, who went to the War Memorial on the beach, ran into villain-turned-hero Pasupathi, who along with his co-stars was engaged in a film shooting. The diplomat, unassumingly, had replied to questions posed by the actor about the Union Territory’s growth and his interest in Tamil movies.

Above all what attracted the Ambassador is that France “is very much alive in Puducherry,” thanks to the French language and institutions.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

French envoy enamoured with Puducherry
“Look at where you want to go and put all your efforts into it”
Case against bank official
Essay , elocution competition
Nodal officer for school education
Taslima has ‘open invitation’ to visit France

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu