Today, France is marking its principal national holiday, Bastille Day. Soldiers and military aircraft from across Europe will join the grand parade in Paris, which is set to serve as a demonstration of support for Ukraine and of Europe’s military strength.
This was reported by France24.
On the final Bastille Day of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency, he is hosting around 30 other leaders. The parade is intended to demonstrate to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump that Europe is united and strengthening its defences.
The holiday is celebrated on 14 July because it was on this day in 1789 that Parisians stormed the Bastille fortress and prison, helping to ignite the French Revolution, which toppled the monarchy and ultimately sent King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette to the guillotine.
The centrepiece of the celebrations is the Paris parade beneath the Napoleonic-era Arc de Triomphe and along the Champs-Élysées, which inspired Trump to stage his own military parade last year.
Zelenskyy and Ukrainian troops to join the parade
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join Macron, along with nearly 30 other heads of state and government, in a special parade viewing area.
Ukrainian troops will march along the cobblestoned avenue, while Ukrainian pilots trained in France will fly two Mirage 2000B fighter jets as part of joint crews with their French counterparts.
Macron said yesterday that it was a “great honour” for him to welcome all partners from the Coalition of the Willing and “our Ukrainian friends, who will march with us, demonstrating Europe’s strategic awakening and our unity”.
The ground segment of the parade will be led by around 500 service personnel from countries in the Coalition of the Willing, which have pledged to help ensure Ukraine’s post-war security.
The aerial segment will feature aircraft from Germany, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Poland, Denmark, Greece, Sweden, Norway, Spain and Italy.
The parade will set a record for participation, with 6,800 service members expected to take part this year.
It is worth noting that, due to wildfires and extreme heat, the fireworks displays and firefighters’ balls traditionally held to celebrate Bastille Day have been cancelled.
Wildfires are raging in the Fontainebleau forest south of Paris and in southern France, as the country endures its third heatwave of the year.
