Rafale deal row: After Hollande's claim, French government steps in; says 'companies free to choose Indian partners'

The former French president Francois Hollande on Friday made a shocking statement over sensational rafale deal. Hollande said that the Indian government had proposed Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence as the offset partner in the Rafale deal, and they were left with no choice. Hours after Hollande's statement, French government on Saturday stepped into it and said that it was not involved in the choice of Indian industrial partners “who have been, are being, or will be selected by French companies.”

The French government in its statement said French companies have complete freedom to choose Indian partner companies in the Rafale deal. "In accordance with India's acquisition procedure, French companies have the full freedom to choose the Indian partner companies that they consider to be the most relevant, then present for the Indian government's approval the offsets projects that they wish to execute in India with these local partners so as to fulfil their obligations in this regard," it said.

“As it happens, agreements have already been signed by French companies with many Indian firms, both public and private, under the framework of Indian laws,” said the spokesperson of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs in a statement released by the French Embassy in New Delhi.

On which the French company Dassault Aviation released a clarification statement regarding the contract, it said, “This contract is a government-to-government agreement, it provides for a separate contract in which Dassault Aviation commits to making compensation investments (offsets) in India worth 50 per cent of the value of the purchase.”

It added, “This offsets contract is delivered in compliance with the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 regulations. In this framework, and in accordance with the policy of Make in India, Dassault Aviation has decided to make a partnership with India’s Reliance Group. This partnership has led to the creation of the Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd (DRAL) joint venture in February 2017.”

Francois Hollande, was president of France when the deal of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft was announced and signed with India. Hollande has said that the French government did not have a choice in the matter. “We didn’t have a say in that. It was the Indian government that proposed this service group (Reliance), and Dassault who negotiated with Ambani. We didn’t have a choice, we took the interlocutor who was given to us.”

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