Everything is so French at Bastille Day celebrations

An evening with a French flavour: Bastille Day or National Day celebrations at the Embassy of France have always been a grand affair. This year too, many got together at the ambassador’s residence for the occasion. The venue was decorated in the shades of red, blue and white and a special spread of French food was laid out. Alexandre Ziegler, the French ambassador, and his wife, Veronique, were happy to see their Indian friends, diplomats and French citizens living here."This is my second Bastille Day here, and it’s fantastic! Our National Day is a day of joy, happiness and popular celebrations hosted in every city and village of our country. We are sharing that spirit of celebrations here. A French National Day has to be full of joy, friendship, French food and wine," the ambassador said. MJ Akbar, MoS for External Affairs, was the special guest for the evening.
VN Dalmia and Shovana Narayan (BCCL)
Sam Schreiner, the ambassador of Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and Alexander Evans, the acting high commissioner of the UK (BCCL)
(L-R) Milan Hovorka, the ambassador of Czech Republic, Praful Patel and Manish Arora (BCCL)
France’s fashion connect with India: The French embassy has been a venue to many fashion events and gala celebrations honouring Indian designers, so it was no surprise to see designers Ritu Beri and Manish Arora, at the celebrations. "India and France have shared a strong bond when it comes to fashion. I keep coming to India, but it’s after years that I’ve got to be a part of this celebration here," said Manish. Ritu, who hosted an event at the French embassy in April, said, "For me, this place has always been special. It reflects the strong connect that I have had with France." She added that she is mostly in Paris around this time of the year, so she hasn’t been a part of any French National Day event in Delhi in the past.
(L-R) V Namgyel, the Bhutanese ambassador, Andreas Baum, the Swiss ambassador and Tara Gandhi (BCCL)
(L-R) Shahnaz Husain, Shivani Wazir Pasrich and Pinky Anand (BCCL)
(L-R) Hemant Sagar, Kiran Gujral and Satish Gujral (BCCL)
(L-R) Pakistani Deputy High Commissioner Syed Haider Shah, Australian High Commissioner Harinder Sidhu and Ritu Beri (BCCL)
‘Soon to host more fashion events’: The ambassador told us that to foster Indo-French ties there are many events lined up as part of their festival – Bonjour India. Sharing his excitement about the upcoming events, he said, “There is a tremendous energy between India and France, and it is the right moment to be here. We have many more events planned this November as part of Bonjour India. It will last for three months in 40 cities and there will be many events during the festival, including big fashion shows.”