France stages biggest Bastille Day parade with Zelensky as guest of honour

PARIS: France marked Bastille Day on Tuesday with its largest-ever national day parade, using the annual ceremony to display military strength and solidarity with allied countries as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended as guest of honour.

The July 14 parade, the last one overseen by President Emmanuel Macron, brought together thousands of French troops, hundreds of European soldiers and two dozen foreign heads of state and government. Zelensky was among the leaders present for the ceremony in the French capital.

The event commemorates the storming of the Bastille fortress during the French Revolution. The parade unfolded along Paris landmarks including the Champs-Elysees, the Place de la Concorde and areas near the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre.

Military display in Paris

Images from the parade showed French troops marching beneath the Arc de Triomphe as the national flag flew overhead, while the armed forces also rolled motorised vehicles through the avenue. Soldiers from the 12th Cuirassier Regiment were among the units taking part in the procession.

The military display also included an aerial element. Members of the Naval Aviation Force Flotilla 36F carried an S100 drone during the air show, while French Air and Space Army Mirage 2000 D and 2000-5 aircraft flew over Paris. Military aircraft also carried out a flypast over the city during the ceremony.

France’s elite aerobatic team, Patrouille de France, released trails in the country’s national colours during a flyover, with one display photographed above the Court Carre with the Louvre Pyramid and Louvre Museum in the background, and another over the Champs-Elysees with the Arc de Triomphe visible behind it.

Allied participation

The parade also highlighted France’s ties with partner nations. Members of the Coalition of the Willing from Hungary, Greece and Finland were seen marching during the ceremony, while Ukrainian troops paraded with the coalition of invited foreign nations at the Place de la Concorde.

Photographs from the event also showed Macron posing with heads of state and government from the Coalition of the Willing for a family photo at the end of the parade. In another moment during the ceremony, Macron was seen shaking hands with Zelensky at the Place de la Concorde.

The mounted Republican Guard was also part of the annual Bastille Day parade in Paris as France combined ceremony, military hardware and allied participation in this year’s July 14 observances.