Macron Says India, France Will Build 'Cooperative AI' As US Restricts Access To Anthropic's Top Models

Last Updated:June 14, 2026, 16:19 IST

President Macron and PM Modi launch Bharat Innovates in Nice, highlight India-France Year of Innovation, pledge cooperation on AI, climate, energy and nuclear projects.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday said India and France will work at cooperative artificial intelligence. This comes after the US ordered Anthropic to disable AI models for foreign nationals.

Speaking that ‘Bharat Innovates’ inauguration event, Macron welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Nice and said “A few months ago, we jointly launched the ‘Year of French-India Innovation’ in Mumbai. The question was not whether India was innovating, but rather who would innovate in partnership with India."

He also said that India and France looking at cooperative AI. “India and France believe in a true partnership, respect in cooperative AI. In the fields of climate and energy, France and India are innovating together. In the nuclear energy sector, we are collaborating on projects and technologies such as SMRs (Small Modular Reactors)…"

This remark comes after Claude-maker Anthropic announced on Friday that it had suspended access to two powerful AI models, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, after the Trump administration sought to block foreign access over national security concerns.

An administrative official told Axios that the AI models need to remain locked down until the US government’s national security apparatus was bolstered enough to ward off threats, which could take a few weeks.

Macron At Nice Summit

The French President congratulated Modi for becoming India’s longest democratically elected PM, saying, “Dear Prime Minister, I would like to congratulate you on your visit here, and just a few days ago, you became the longest-serving Prime Minister of India since its independence. It has been a long journey that reflects your steadfast resolve and the strength of your country; it is truly remarkable. We are, therefore, very proud to have you here among us."

“This long run says a lot about your determined action or the strengths of your country and its wonderful assets and your leadership. So we are very proud to have you here. So why is it obvious for France to believe in that capacity to innovate in India? Well, I would say to put it bluntly, so you have the demographic dividends. What does it mean? So a country with 1.4 billion inhabitants, a country who pays on know-how and research knowledge and training as many engineers as Europe and the US come and more than 1 million per year. So in every respect, the country with research innovations and frontier models is spearheading global innovation," the French President said.

“India, a nation driven by research and innovation, is at the forefront of global innovation. And if I were to cite just one example of what you can do, the space sector stands out as the best illustration. With the Chandrayaan-3 mission, the feat of landing on the Moon’s south pole was accomplished in record time, thereby demonstrating India’s strength and innovative capability," he said.

PM Modi At Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a visit to France, said the Bharat Innovates programme acts as a bridge between India’s talented youth and European expertise.

“…Different countries across the world do trade with each other and also strike strategic partnerships with each other. But there are few relations which are driven by shared vision, besides shared interests. India-France relations is one such tie," he said.

Speaking on relationship shared by India and France, PM Modi said: “This relationship has connection, conviction, innovation, inspiration, shared values and shared vision. Based on the foundation of this relationship, we have together launched new initiatives and guided new ideas in the past few years. We have also made all efforts to find solutions to global challenges."

“Be it International Solar Alliance, AI-related dialogues, our partnership from security to sustainability – meaning, our two nations have worked together in finding solutions to challenges related to humanity. In February this year, India-France Year of Innovation was started. I am delighed that today we are inaugurating ‘Bharat Innovates’ with France," he said.

PM Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron jointly inaugurated the event earlier in the day. The event is being attended by top innovation startups and Venture Capital funds from India, France, and other countries.

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