On Wednesday, he will accompany French president Emmanuel Macron to the Mazargues War Cemetry to pay tribute to the Indian soldiers who died fighting in the First World War.
The Marseille trip is also designed to hold diplomatic summits with key allies outside Paris, just like Prime Minister Narendra Modi took him to Jaipur last year.
Prime Minister Modi and Macron will inaugurate the newest Consulate General of India in Marseille.
However, this port city has a significant link to India’s freedom struggle. Prominent freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar or Veer Savarkar, attempted a daring escape on July 8, 1910, while he was being transported on board the British ship Morea to India for trial.
Savarkar slipped out of a porthole and swam ashore. He ran before being finally captured by the French authorities and then handed over to the British on the ship.
Savarkar’s attempted escape triggered diplomatic tensions between France and Britain.
France alleged that the freedom fighter’s return “violated international law”, as proper extradition procedures were not followed.
The case was then submitted to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which ruled in 1911 that while there was an “irregularity” in his arrest, Britain was not obligated to return him to France.
The French government argued that Savarkar being handed over to the British authorities violated international law, as proper extradition procedures were not followed.
‘Savarkar should have been subjected to French legal process’, said France
French authorities contended that Savarkar, having escaped to French soil in Marseille, should have been subject to French legal processes, rather than being “handed back to the British without due process”.
The French press and human rights organisations had criticised the incident as a “breach of French sovereignty and international legal norms,” labeling it an “irregular and improper rendition”.
France demanded Savarkar’s restitution, asserting “that his arrest and return lacked legal justification under extradition treaties”.
