PARIS (AP) — Paris welcomes a very special guest for France’s Bastille Day holiday Sunday: the Olympic flame lighting up the city’s grand Bastille Day military parade.
With just 12 days to go before the French capital hosts an exceptionally ambitious and highly secure Summer Games, the Olympic torch relay joins thousands of soldiers, sailors, rescuers and medics parading through Paris to the roar of fighter jets to commemorate Bastille Day.
As the French celebrate the day with concerts, parties, and fireworks, here’s a look at what the holiday represents and what’s different this year:
What does July 14th celebrate?
On July 14, 1789, revolutionaries stormed the Bastille fortress and prison in Paris, heralding the beginning of the French Revolution and the end of the monarchy.
This holiday is central to the French calendar, with events held across the country. It aims to embody the national motto of “liberty, equality and fraternity,” though not everyone in France feels the country lives up to that promise.
The Paris parade is the highlight of the festival. This year, it pays tribute to those who liberated France from Nazi occupation 80 years ago, with a reenactment of the D-Day landings of June 6, 1944 and a display of the emblems of the 31 countries whose troops contributed to the liberation. About half of them are African countries that were under French colonial rule during World War II.
Who participates ?
Some 4,000 people and 162 horses will parade in the precisely choreographed spectacle, including units that have served in NATO missions in Eastern Europe, against Islamist extremists in the Sahel, protecting French territories in the South Pacific and international shipping lanes. They are joined this year by three German officers from a cross-border brigade.
The ornate uniforms are rich in symbolism – notably those of the sappers of the French Foreign Legion, with long beards, leather aprons and axes from their original role as road clearers for advancing armies.
Overhead, 65 aircraft will fly in formation, including a British Typhoon fighter alongside French Mirage and Rafale jets, rescue helicopters and planes used in missions from Afghanistan to Mali or during international drug busts.
President Emmanuel Macron and dozens of dignitaries will preside over the event.
The number of police officers is down compared to previous years, due to security measures put in place for the Olympic Games. Around 130,000 police officers are deployed in France for the holiday weekend.
What is the political context?
This year, July 14 offers Macron a moment of distraction from the political turmoil he unleashed with snap elections that weakened his pro-business centrist party and his presidency.
The result leaves parliament deadlocked, with no clear leader. The prime minister could step down in the coming days, while the left-wing alliance that won the most seats is struggling to agree on a replacement.
Meanwhile, Russia’s war in Ukraine threatens Europe’s security. At a meeting with military leaders on Saturday, Macron said France would maintain its support for Ukraine and called for increased defense spending next year because of “imminent threats.”
What’s different this year?
The Olympic torch relay arrives in Paris just in time.
The parade ends with the arrival of the flame, escorted by horsemen, 25 torchbearers and cadets forming the shapes of the Olympic rings.
Typically, the parade runs from the Napoleonic-era Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde, where the last king and queen of France were beheaded.
This year, the Concorde has been transformed into a huge Olympic stadium for breakdancing, skateboarding and BMX. The parade route therefore heads towards the Bois de Boulogne, on the edge of the city.
Construction of the Olympic site around the Eiffel Tower means spectators are also unable to gather beneath the monument to watch its annual fireworks display.
After its appearance on July 14, the torch relay will pass by Notre Dame Cathedral, the historic Sorbonne University and the Louvre Museum before heading to other Parisian monuments on Monday.
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