President Emmanuel Macron will spend Sunday 14 June 2026 on the French Riviera, in Nice and Beaulieu-sur-Mer.
The French President is heading to the Côte d’Azur to inaugurate the first edition of the Bharat Innovates trade fair with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, before hosting the Indian leader at Villa Kérylos in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, the same venue where President Macron and his wife Brigitte met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife during their state visit in March 2019.
Modi arrived in Nice on Saturday, where he and his team are reportedly staying at the Negresco Hotel. Writing on social media, he said: “I look forward to meeting President Macron tomorrow and to being at Bharat Innovates.”
What is Bharat Innovates?
Bharat Innovates 2026 is an Indian initiative to “identify, mentor, and showcase India’s most promising technology ventures”, according to its website. (‘Bharat’ is the traditional Sanskri and Hindi word for India.)
The three-day fair is being held at the Nice Exhibition Centre. It will feature 120 Indian start-ups and 15 premier institutions in key areas for the Franco-Indian relationship. President Macron has said: “The question is no longer if India innovates, but who will innovate with India.”
The Indian PM said his official visit to France will also include Evian and Paris, and added “there will be bilateral and multilateral engagements, which will be aimed at improving India’s friendships with key developmental partners.”
Within hours of arriving, the popular leader received a “memorable welcome” from Nice’s Indian community. “Though they may be several kilometres away from home, the bond of our diaspora with India remains as strong as ever,” he noted.
An Honour for Nice to Host the Indian Prime Minister
The Indian flag is flying high at Nice City Hall to mark Modi’s visit. Nice Mayor Eric Ciotti said it is an honour for Nice to welcome the Indian prime minister and wished him “an excellent stay in our city”.
Ciotti says that hosting Bharat Innovates 2026 and the tech startups “confirms our city’s potential to become one of Europe’s leading hubs for innovation, research, and economic development”.
Increased security and traffic restrictions
For local residents between Nice and Beaulieu, please note that tight security and strict traffic restrictions are being enforced. Many roads have been blocked for the weekend, and drone flights are forbidden in the affected areas.
Ciotti said: “I commend the commitment and professionalism of the national and municipal police officers, as well as the soldiers on duty and the gendarmes mobilized to ensure the security of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Nice.”
According to ICI Azur, almost 1,000 officers have been deployed including land, air and sea security teams.
The Department of Alpes-Maritimes confirmed that “state services are fully mobilized to contribute to the success of this visit, which reflects the deepening of the special overall strategic partnership and cooperation between our two countries.”
President Macron’s Future Visits to the Riviera
President Macron will be back on the French Riviera later this month for a summit in Antibes with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. This will be their first bilateral summit since Meloni took office in October 2022.
The French President will also return in September to host the International Cinema & Moving Image Summit in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
