Published: February 16, 2026 22:42
Updated: February 16, 2026 22:51
Reading Time: 3min – Video: 4min
Pondicherry, a former French trading post returned to India in 1954, is the most French of Indian cities. The traces of French presence are still there.
On the shores of the Indian Ocean, a touch of the Mediterranean lingers 8,000 km from France. In Pondicherry (India), fishermen gather every evening to play petanque. The sport introduced by French settlers is an institution here. The city has over 3,000 boules players. ““We have been playing petanque here for 100 years. It’s a very simple sport, anyone can play. You don’t need a specific field or take lessons. Just have the boules, and you can play”, says Alice Androus, a petanque player.
In the territory colonized in the 17th century, France left traces of its presence. Some subtle, around the streets, others deeper. A history that this guide knows by heart. “Here is the French consulate. In 1954, when Pondicherry was returned to India, France offered the residents the chance to become French. Those interested came here, registered, and obtained a passport”, explains Dhinesth Keerth.
Seven years after India’s independence, Pondicherry became part of the country. Only 5,000 residents then chose French nationality. Today, their descendants are still here. Like Ashok Touyavan and his son Rishi. At the time, his grandfather opted for France. Three generations later, this choice remains a source of pride. Memories of the numerous trips to their country are displayed throughout the house.
“You have the Eiffel towers, the glasses from the Saint-Etienne football team, of which I am a fan. Even when I go shopping, I use the bag. We are in a typical Indian house that is over 100 years old, where we have many French references. That is truly Pondicherry. It’s really the Franco-Pondicherians. They feel it in their blood and live with it, it’s a pride”, says Ashok Touyavan, a Franco-Pondicherian.
Today, many Franco-Pondicherians have settled in France. They are now only a few thousand in the city. A small community still very attached to the French language. This language is passed on at the French school founded two centuries ago. Over 400 students are enrolled there, from kindergarten to high school.
In a 4th-grade class, most students are French, but before coming here, many only spoke Tamil, the local language. “They are French by heritage, as they say. Meaning they have French nationality, but they have a completely Tamil culture. They live in Pondicherry and have the ambition to attend the French school to go to France, work in France”, explains Aude-Sophie Houlette, the primary school director in Pondicherry.
Pondicherry is experienced as history has shaped it: a city of two cultures.
