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This Thursday, July 14, President Emmanuel Macron presides over the military parade in Paris on Bastille Day, France’s National Holiday, which this time is marked by the war in Ukraine. The Armed Forces pay tribute to the country that has been attacked by Russia for nearly five months.
France celebrates Ukraine on Bastille Day, its National Holiday.
The French territory celebrates its holiday, instituted by law since 1880 as a symbol of the end of the absolute monarchy, with a parade of around 5,000 soldiers marching down the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris.
But this year the opening of the traditional march was designed to show support for kyiv and France’s commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), especially to the Eastern European allies most affected by the war launched by Russia against Ukraine, on February 24.
On the eve of Bastille Day, President Emmanuel Macron praised the unexpected ability of the Ukrainians to deal with Russian aggression. Given the context, the president assured that he requested a review of his country’s military organization to make it more agile in the face of changing threats.
“Each and every one of us was impressed by the moral strength of the Ukrainian nation that allowed it to resist despite an initially unfavorable balance of power,” Macron assured the French military high command.
The president also called for a “rethinking” of France’s military presence in Africa.
“I have asked the minister, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the General Delegate for Armaments to review the relevance of our organizations, our structures and even our way of seeing things (…) in order to be able to make decisions faster, coordinate better and more efficiently and adapt to the evolution of conflicts”, remarked the Head of State.
“Share the flame”
The motto of this year’s Bastille events is “Share the Flame,” a reference to France hosting the 2024 Olympics. High-profile Olympians and Paralympians have also been invited, though the main focus will be on in Ukraine and security in Europe.
“The parade is marked and takes into account the strategic context (…) The idea is to highlight strategic solidarity with our allies,” confirmed an official from President Macron’s office.
The event, which features fighter jets, military vehicles and a sophisticated US combat drone that will fly over the parade for the first time, was set to open with the display of the flags of nine countries. Most of them neighbors of the Ukrainian territory or Russia: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
Allied troops from Eastern Europe were assigned the forward position and the multinational troops deployed in Romania after the invasion marched alongside them.
The next military units to hit the streets are the French armed forces deployed near Ukraine since the conflict broke out. A way to grant them a special place in the event, which, in addition to the president, is attended by members of his government and foreign leaders.
The commemoration closes with a nightly fireworks display from the Eiffel Tower.
Bastille Day marks July 14, 1789, when angry mobs in Paris stormed the Bastille prison and helped spark the French Revolution and, by extension, a spirit of national unity, thanks to the extensive rights granted to prisoners. citizens in subsequent years.
With AP and AFP
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