(14 Jul 2014) Soldiers carrying the flags of 76 countries marched down the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Monday, as France's traditional Bastille Day military parade commemorated the centenary of World War I.
France invited all countries that were involved on the battlefields - former allies and enemies, former colonisers and colonies, participating altogether in the ceremony as a symbol of peace.
More than 3,700 soldiers, 50 aircraft, 280 military vehicles and 240 horses of the French national guard participated in the parade, which paid homage to forces serving overseas.
France currently has a strong military presence in Africa with 3,000 soldiers in the Sahel region of northern Africa fighting extremists, and 2,000 in Central African Republic trying to help quell sectarian violence.
Bastille Day marks the July 14, 1789, storming of the Bastille prison by angry Paris crowds that helped spark the French Revolution.
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