French President Nicolas Sarkozy, with members of delegation, walk outside the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, 26 Jan 2008

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has made a visit to India's famed Taj Mahal, but without his model-singer girlfriend, Carla Bruni.

The Taj Mahal in the city of Agra was closed to the public for a few hours Saturday, so Mr. Sarkozy could tour the 17th-century Moghul monument.

Earlier in the day, the French President was was guest of honor at India's Republic Day parade in New Delhi.

Thousands of India's security forces marched through the capital city to mark the anniversary of the adoption of India's democratic constitution in 1950. Mr. Sarkozy watched the spectacle, while accompanied by India's first female president, Prathibha Patil.

The French president has been touring India in an effort to strengthen ties between the two nations. During this trip, he and Indian leaders signed a pact on nuclear power cooperation. He was due to leave India later Saturday.

India - which has not signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty - needs to reach agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency and supplier groups before it can enter the global atomic energy market.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP.