‘The EPR has improved safety systems'

The last decade has seen the India-France relationship evolving from mere buyer-seller congeniality into a robust strategic partnership with collaborative ventures in assorted realms. The euphoria over the civil nuclear agreement is still in the air, but project delays and widespread resistance to nuclear plants loom large. In an interview French Ambassador to India Jerome Bonnafont seeks to clear the air on some of the issues, contending that the bilateral bond is developing at a good pace, but not rapidly enough. Edited excerpts from the interview, which was conducted on board the French Navy's amphibious assault ship Mistral, as it called at the Kochi port during a five-month-long training cruise.