PARIS: France on Tuesday showcased military power and unity with European allies in its largest-ever national day parade.
The final July 14 parade presided over by President Emmanuel Macron, the event brought together thousands of French troops, hundreds of European ones and two dozen foreign heads of state and government, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The parade, which marks the storming of the Bastille fortress in the French revolution and is by far the largest such event in any western European nation, was held a day after Macron hosted a new summit of Ukraine’s allies, four-and-a-half years into the full-scale Russian invasion.
Other European leaders attending the parade included German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and, on one of his last foreign engagements, British Premier Keir Starmer, who has spearheaded with Macron European efforts to support Ukraine.
With nearly 6,700 troops, 98 aircraft, 31 helicopters and 315 vehicles, a record number of military personnel were marching the traditional route between the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde in Paris.
