The Hindu : Front Page : Mumbai’s sang-froid impresses French envoy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 22, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Mumbai’s sang-froid impresses French envoy

Meena Menon

Bonnafont back at the Taj reopening to express solidarity

Jerome Bonnafont

Mumbai: The Ambassador of France in India, Jérôme Bonnafont was here when the terror attacks took place on November 26. Three weeks later Mr. Bonnafont was back to attend the reopening of the Taj Mahal hotel and stay there as a guest to express solidarity.

In an interaction with The Hindu, Mr. Bonnafont said he was, “impressed by the calm of the people of Mumbai. I can understand their feelings of sorrow but they were so calm.”

By coming back on December 21, the day the Taj Mahal hotel reopened, Mr. Bonnafont was joining several others in an expression of sympathy.

“This is to bring a message of friendship and confidence. Staying at the Taj is a bit of a habit with me. I first stayed there 20 years ago when I accompanied French President Francois Mitterrand,” he said with a smile.

India was Mr. Bonnafont’s first diplomatic posting from 1986 to 1989.

On November 26, he was in the city for the day to prepare for the Year of France in India in 2009 and he had several appointments at the Taj Mahal hotel. He also met Mr. Ratan Tata at Bombay House before the evening function to give away the Legion d’ Honneur award. He heard about the attacks during dinner at a hotel and spent most of that night trying to contact the French community and ensure their safety.

The European Union (EU) Presidency is with France now and that meant added responsibility. The chief concern was the group of EU Parliamentarians who were staying at the Taj.

“My first feelings were of shock and horror at the incredible violence that was shown by the terrorists and deep sorrow for all the victims at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the hotels, and at Nariman House. I felt sorrow and revolt and wondered how they could do such a thing,” he said.

About 50 French nationals were inside the hotels at the time of the attack. It was a painful period as they had to establish who was inside and it was only after two days that they got the shocking news about the death of two French nationals at the Oberoi. Mr. Bonnafont said that they were also in touch with the police constantly to assess the level of threat and he expressed great admiration for the police and the special forces who carried out their duty with a lot of courage.

First priority

After the attacks, the first priority was to ensure that the 350 French families who live in the city were safe. Though none of those settled here was evacuated, the tougher task was to make sure that people in both the five star hotels were rescued. People wanted to go home and they had to be given special papers as they had left everything behind in their rooms. It was also important to make sure they were feeling mentally stable and most of them had a very difficult time, especially those who were witness to the carnage. The EU Members of Parliament were in the Taj hotel and in some of its restaurants. They were evacuated and brought to the residence of the French Consul General and in 24 hours a special flight was arranged for them to fly back to Europe. About 80 Europeans including 15 to 20 French nationals were sent back on that flight. In addition there was a special medical flight sent by Sweden later to check on the foreigners admitted in various hospitals and to see if they needed to be sent back for treatment.

Mr. Bonnafont clarified that France had never advised its nationals not to visit India. “We said at the time of the operations that only those who have to travel should do so. We also said that people who travel must be aware there is a security situation and they must be alert in public places,” he said.

Wave of sympathy

According to Mr. Bonnafont, there was a huge wave of sympathy in France and people thought it was really unfair that the people of India had been attacked this way. France had a strategic partnership with India and had offered cooperation in terms of equipment, training of special forces and advanced vigilance systems.

However, even though people knew there was a security situation, he pointed out that it did not prevent them from maintaining their involvement with India. Economically, India was on an upward development trend and he was confident that these attacks could not dent that in any way. There could be short term effects on tourism and there were cancellations but it was a temporary reaction to the crisis, he felt. The message was clear. The fact that the Taj and the Trident hotels were reopening was a sign that people would not be deterred by those threats. France’s exports to India were growing and investment was projected at 10 billion Euros over the next five years. This may be affected by the economic slowdown and instead of five years, it could spread over seven years but the intention to invest would be consistent, he said.

Big French companies in energy, automobiles, aeronautics, among others, were keen on India and realised they had to come here for business opportunities. Even the tourism sector was growing and a leading French group which was planning 50 hotels to suit various budgets across India, fully intended to go ahead with its plans. Three hotels had come up apart from a convention centre.

‘India, a victim’

And finally a word on Pakistan. “We have been very clear on Pakistan. India is a victim in this attack and there is a clear link between the attack and Pakistan territory. We ask Pakistan to do the utmost so that this issue is settled and it does not happen again. There is unanimity on this from the international community too and the UN Security Council has already banned an organisation,” he explained.

There was a democratic government in Pakistan and the leaders were responsible. “We want this leadership to take full responsibility to eradicate terrorism from their soil,” he said. He agreed with India that The Global Convention on Terrorism had to be put into force quickly and the only thing delaying it was the definition of terrorism. Some countries did not agree. “It’s very simple for us. There is no justification for terrorism, so don’t go into the politics of this. It’s a crime,” he concluded.

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

Front Page