France shares a very close and long standing relationship with Tamil Nadu which also includes deep cultural and people to people ties in particular between the Tamil Nadu state and France’s Reunion Island. Besides, owing to its manufacturing and innovation oriented ecosystem, Tamil Nadu, especially Chennai, has developed as a hub of French business and investments in India.

 

Tamil Nadu is a home to more than 140 French companies and it attracts an important share of all French investments in India. French companies are present in many priority sectors such as healthcare, industry, automotive, digital technologies, services, or energy. Despite the COVID 19 pandemic, they have continued investing in Tamil Nadu, with significant projects such as Engie’s 250 MW wind power plant in Tuticorin and Total’s new LPG plan in Coimbatore.

 

To reflect this growing partnership, France decided in the year 2017 to open a Bureau de France in Chennai whose mission was to boost cooperation, exchanges, and mobility, including that of students, between France and Tamil Nadu.