India-France Special Global Strategic Partnership

India and France have maintained one of the most substantive bilateral defence relationships since the 1998 nuclear tests, when France was the first country to resume engagement with India. France was the only P-5 nation that did not criticise India's Pokhran-II tests. The relationship has since deepened across three pillars: defence (Rafale jets, Scorpène submarines, Shakti helicopter engines), nuclear (civil nuclear cooperation, French support for India's NSG membership), and space (ISRO-CNES cooperation on TRISHNA, Megha-Tropiques satellites). The elevation to "Special Global Strategic Partnership" in February 2026 is the highest tier of the bilateral relationship, placing it alongside India's partnerships with the US and Russia.