France flaunts firepower and unity with ales as Macron hosts final Bastille Day parade

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - PARIS — France showcased its military power and unity with allies on Tuesday, holding its largest-ever national day parade with Ukraine's president as guest of honor as European rearmament gathers pace in the face of Russia's war against Ukraine.

For the last Bastille Day parade presided over by President Emmanuel Macron, the event brought together thousands of French troops but also two dozen foreign heads of state and government, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and hundreds of European troops.

The parade, which marks the storming of the Bastille fortress in the French revolution, is being held a day after Macron hosted a new summit of Ukraine's allies some four-and-a-half years into the full-scale Russian invasion of its neighbor.

Other European leaders witnessing 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 but is now stepping down.

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.

The parade was to illustrate "France's rearmament, France's strategic autonomy, and Europe's strategic awakening," said a French presidential official.

"What is marching past is a Europe united and determined to support Ukraine in the face of Russia, a Europe confident in itself," deputy defense minister Alice Rufo told RTL radio.

France's traditional national day ​military parade fell one day after Zelenskiy joined around 25 ​leaders in Paris for a summit of the coalition of Western allies supporting ⁠Ukraine in its war against Russia.

The allies announced an air-defence coalition as Ukraine grapples with ​critical ammunition shortages and intensifying Russian strikes on its capital Kyiv and surrounding regions.

Some 500 soldiers ‌from the "Coalition of the Willing" backing Ukraine marched down Paris' Champs-Elysees in the annual Bastille Day parade, which also featured around ​25 Ukrainian soldiers following the troops of coalition members along the French capital's most famous avenue.

The traditional fly-past brought together ​French and allied European aircraft, including French Mirage fighter jets that Macron's office said would be ‌flown ⁠with Ukrainian co-pilots currently training on the aircraft.

"It will be a historic parade because of this international dimension, which will be a strong signal that Europe is waking up and coming to terms with how dangerous the world has become," ​a French presidential adviser ​told reporters ahead of ⁠the event.

Tens of thousands of members of the public braved a scorching heatwave to attend the celebrations in central Paris, having obtained special QR codes to allow them to cross the security perimeter.

In another sign ​of Europe's increasingly hard-edged security posture, Macron said on Monday ​that the ⁠continent was facing its gravest threats in decades and must be prepared to bear the costs of defending its values and security.

Macron, who has pressed for a strategically autonomous Europe less dependent on the United States, said on Monday that Europe would fight for freedom, even if it required its own troops shedding blood.

"The message we send to the world is this: Yes, peace is our goal," he said in a traditional speech to the armed forces.

"Yes, we cherish freedom and the rule of law. And yes, we stand ready to fight to defend them. Always, and at the cost of blood if necessary."

With threats growing to European security and US President Donald Trump regarded as an unpredictable ally, Chief of the Defense Staff General Fabien Mandon described the parade on X "a physical embodiment of the strategic solidarity between our countries."

Mandon caused a storm late last year when he said France must be prepared to "accept losing its children" in a potential future conflict with Russia.

The parade is also being held after new exchanges between Iran and the United States in the Middle East, raising fears of a return to full-scale war.

This year's military parade is Macron's last as president before he steps down next year after a maximum two consecutive terms in office that have seen him seek to boost defence spending and ramp up cooperation with allies.

In his first months in office, the French leader famously used the 2017 Bastille Day parade to wow his guest of honor, freshly inaugurated Trump during his first term.

This year's parade is also being held 10 years after a truck driver plowed into crowds leaving a Bastille Day fireworks display in the southern city of Nice, killing 86 people and wounding more than 400.

Macron is due to head to Nice later in the day while the Champs-Élysées is expected to be filled with supporters for the France-Spain World Cup semi final on Tuesday evening.