puducherry the new consul general of france in pondicherry catherine suard said the consulate will hold a french investors meet in the union territory of puducherry suard and chief of bonjour project bertrand de hartingh called on chief secretary manoj parida on monday the french dignitaries decided to strengthen indofrench cooperation in implementing the smart city proposalparida promised the french dignitaries that the government will hold a workshop to enlighten the french investors on investment opportunities in the union territory hartingh said the french government will hold bonjour india an indofrench cultural festival around the indian republic day celebrations next year they also discussed in detail on collaborative efforts in popularizing green technology and sustainable developmentthe visiting dignitaries were keen on the proposal to renovate the historic 143yearold mairie building which collapsed in november 2014 parida said public works department will execute the project with the technical assistance from indian national trust for art and cultural heritage intach and a team of experts deputed by the french governmentthe puducherry government had already submitted a proposal to the world bank through governmentmanaged project implementation agency pia seeking rs 1065crore aid for the reconstruction of the collapsed building