French National Day Celebrations in Hyderabad, Bengaluru

On the French National Day, commonly known as Bastille Day, 14th July, in India, celebrations are held in all cities where a French foreign diplomatic mission is present. Bangalore usually witnesses a reception hosted by the Consulate General of France in the company of its partners, associates and friends from all walks of life. However, given the situation in 2020, this get-together will take a completely different shape.

Like many meetings nowadays, this too shall be a virtual one with the screening of videos showcasing programs and activities in fields as diverse as science, arts, culture, cinema, tourism, education, business and politics. This would be further enhanced with testimonials from eminent Indian personalities.

The Consulate General of France in India announced that this year's celebration will have a strong expression of solidarity towards organizations that work for the betterment of the most underprivileged in India, whether in the form of supporting access to education for children, or feeding the poor, or training those in extreme poverty. There are five associations, across Karnataka and Telangana, towards which the Consul General has extended assistance in the form of food essentials, books and stationery items.

These are Manamadurai Rural Development Trust (MRDT) in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Marica Higher Educational Society in Hyderabad, Pawmencap in Hyderabad, Objectif France Inde in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and Sunshine for a School in Bangalore. This would be done in the form of donations from the Consulate General of France and French firms and community members. This initiative stems especially in the backdrop of the current Covid-19 crisis.

The Consul General, Dr. Marjorie Vanbaelinghem, who is finishing the first year of her term as Consul General in Bangalore with a jurisdiction including Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, stated on the occasion of the national day that she had appreciated the high-level of cooperation from local authorities, when it came to helping her consular team evacuate the French tourists that were stranded after flights were suspended.

"I want to extend, on our National Day; my gratitude towards our community has been calm, resilient and compliant with the instructions of the authorities. The authorities helped with the evacuation of French tourists who needed to return home, in so many ways, at so many different levels, from Gokarna to Vijayawada, from Mysore to Hyderabad. Like India, France has paid a heavy tribute to Covid-19. We need solidarity in times like these and, beyond that we witnessed between the two countries, at an official level, I'm happy to see solidarity at ground level."