On July 14, the road from the steps of Novotel led through the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. Guests walked down the red carpet, replicating the celebrated avenue, dotted with cafe, creperie, patisserie and works of art on the wayside to the Bastille Day fete hosted by the French consulate in Calcutta. The choice was apt, the avenue being the route of the Bastille Day military parade in Paris. 

“We want more Indians in France — tourists, businessmen, students, academics...” said Damien Syed, the consul general of France, to huge applause, standing on a stage flanked by facades of Eiffel Tower and Cathedral Notre Dame. Another prominent presence was the logo of Paris 2024, as the city is a front-runner to host the Olympics on the 100th anniversary of the 1924 edition, when the founder of the modern Olympics Pierre de Coubertin hosted his final Olympics in his homeland. 

With the evergreen Francis Cabrel, Edith Piaf, Maxime le Forestier as well as modern hits of Noir Desir and Renaud playing in the background, glasses of Chablis and Saint-Emilion clinked in conviviality as conversation flowed. 

The one wearing the biggest grin was Caroline de Penning. Late to reach the party after being stuck in traffic, her foul mood took a cheerful turn when a chit bearing her name was picked in the lottery, winning her two tickets to Paris, courtesy Qatar Airways! “This will be a pleasant surprise for my husband,” smiled the Londoner, who is in Calcutta for six years now.