A prominent French newspaper Le Monde refused to run Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s interview after it was told to publish his written answers and not to interact with him.
Le Monde’s South Asia correspondent Julien Bouissou tweeted, “Le Monde refused to run an interview of Narendra Modi after we were told to publish written answers, not to interact with him.”
The Prime Minister’s Office has instead negotiated an email interview with Le Figaro.
Modi arrived in France on Thursday night, the first leg of his three-nation tour. During his four-day stay, Modi will hold talks with President Francois Hollande and meet business leaders. The focus of the talks will be civil nuclear, defence and trade.
The two leaders are also expected to unveil Franco-Indian stamps. The highlight of the trip will be a boat ride on the Seine river which is being described as ‘Naav pe charcha’.
In France, the Prime Minister will also visit the World War-I memorial and pay tributes to about 10,000 Indians who lost their lives while fighting alongside France. He will also visit UNESCO headquarters, Airbus facility and French space agency office.
After wrapping up the first leg of his tour, Modi will head to Germany and Canada.
