PM reaches Paris for Bastille Day parade

August 25th, 2009 Vets mark 65 years since Paris freed from NazisPARIS — Veterans of the French Resistance have joined President Nicolas Sarkozy in a ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Paris from the Nazi occupation. On Aug. 25, 1944, Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle moved back into the War Ministry in central Paris and made a famous speech from City Hall.

August 22nd, 2009 Frenchman who shot at ex-President Chirac releasedPARIS — A French far-right activist has been released from prison seven years after attempting to assassinate then-President Jacques Chirac in a Bastille Day attack, a judicial official said Saturday. Maxime Brunerie was convicted of attempted murder after he pulled a rifle from a guitar case and shot at Chirac on July 14, 2002.

July 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh returned home Friday from a four-day trip to France and Egypt, the highlight of which was a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani and a joint statement from the two leaders that gets the two countries to begin talks again. Manmohan Singh's first stop was Paris where he attended the French National Day parade.

July 15th, 2009 PARIS - Others may have wilted but not India's 77-year-old Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who valiantly stood next to French President Nicolas Sarkozy through much of the two-hour Bastille Day parade and then after it was over decided to abandon his carcade to walk to his hotel. After the rains of the previous week, Paris was warm as it celebrated its National Day Tuesday and many people lined up on either side of the Champs Elysees were seen looking for shade and a place to rest their legs.

July 14th, 2009 PARIS - Visiting Indian Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on Tuesday said that the participation of an Indian armed forces contingent in the Bastille Day parade on the occasion of France's National Day, reflected the friendship and strategic partnership between the two countries.

July 14th, 2009 PARIS - The sun broke through the clouds to shine brightly over the famed Parisian boulevard of Champs Elysses Tuesday as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became the first foreign leader to be chief guest at France's national day parade. India was the focus as France celebrated 220 years of being a republic - when the storming of the Bastille prison signalled the uprising of modern nation states around the world.

July 14th, 2009 PARIS - Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh arrived in Paris late on Monday night to participate in the National Day celebrations of the Republic of France.

July 14th, 2009 PARIS - As France celebrates the beginning of its revolution more than 200 years ago with the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789, leading the national day marchpast here will be 400 soldiers from the Indian armed forces. And watching the parade will be Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the first foreign leader to be accorded the honour.

July 14th, 2009 Sarkozy calls for high-tech military spendingPARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy opened the traditional Bastille Day military parade to Indian and German troops Tuesday, as France looks to expand its global military influence and strengthen strategic partnerships. French forces marched with precision down the Champs Elysees along with Indian troops in colorful uniforms and German soldiers in sober dress.

July 14th, 2009 PARIS - Vandals in France set fire to 317 automobiles on the eve of Tuesday's Bastille Day celebrations, France Info radio reported Tuesday. That represents an increase of about seven percent over last year, French police said.

July 14th, 2009 PARIS - The Indian armed forces achieved a significant landmark in their history on Tuesday, when they led the massive Bastille Day military parade down Paris's majestic Champs Elysee to the backdrop of concert music, fireworks and garden parties in the presence of French President Nicholas Sarkozy and Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, who was the Chief Guest of Honour at the event this year.

July 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Prime Minister, Dr.Manmohan Singh, left for the French capital, Paris, today to be the Chief Guest of Honour at France's National Day celebrations on July 14th. He is the first Indian leader to be bestowed this honour, as France does not have a tradition of inviting foreign heads of state to be chief guests at their Bastille Day or National Day celebrations.

July 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left Monday for a four-day trip to Paris, where he will attend the French National Day parade, and the Egyptian resort town of Sharm-el-Sheikh for the 15th Non Aligned Movement (NAM) summit. Manmohan Singh, who is the first foreign leader to be accorded the honour of being chief guest at the Bastille Day parade, will be in Paris for a day before leaving for Sharm-el-Sheikh.

July 10th, 2009 NEW DELHI - As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh goes to Paris Monday, France is moving ahead rapidly to implement its bilateral civil nuclear pact with India. French company Areva is close to finalising a contract for two nuclear reactors to be set up in Maharashtra.

July 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A 270 personnel contingent of the Indian Armed Forces comprising marching columns and a combined military band from the Army, the Navy and the Air Force left here today for Paris to participate in the French National Day. Yesterday, the first batch comprising 130 personnel left for Paris.