The Bastille Day parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue was dedicated to France's national anthem "La Marseillaise" this year and highlighted the commitment to national security while putting the younger generations into the spotlight.
Held each year since 1880 on July 14, France's national day, the Bastille Day parade is among the oldest regular military parades in the world.
This year's celebration opened after French President Francois Hollande arrived at the Arc de Triomphe, and included 4,000 soldiers from the French Army as well as 55 airplanes and 30 helicopters from the French Air Force. Eight Alpha-jets flew by in the shape of the Eiffel Tower, as a symbol of support for Paris' bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games.
As a symbol of unity and values, Australia and New Zealand were invited to this year's Bastille Day parade as guests of honor, in remembrance of the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of Somme, known as one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War. Some 140 Australian and 85 New Zealand soldiers, including eight Maori warriors, joined the parade. Also, the traditional aerial parade, directed by General Jean-Christophe Zimmermann, featured the squadron "La Fayette" in order to honor Franco-American fraternity during the First World War.
As 2015 was a tragic year marked by terrorist attacks in Paris, the 2016 military parade was an occasion to display France's military strength, showing to its nation the personnel in charge of defending their security from external and also internal threats. The parade also marked the last such event in Hollande's five-year term as president, with the approaching presidential elections of 2017.
The parade was followed by a chorus of "La Marseillaise," featuring 400 high school volunteers, and the aerial acrobatics of Captain Alexandre Orlowski, world air race champion, that closed the Bastille Day celebration. More on: [ Ссылка ]
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