Paris: Bastille Day Parade

An opportunity to remember the storming of the Bastille in 1789, and also another Bastille Day, this date is above all our national holiday, marked each year by a military parade on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

This year, the parade addressed three themes: the army celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Flame Committee, under the Arc de Triomphe, responsible for maintaining the Flame of the Unknown Soldier, and also the 100th anniversary of the Bleuet de France, a symbol of national solidarity. The event also pays tribute to young people committed to France and to France’s strategic partners: this year, Indonesia is in the spotlight.

The Indonesian army, a guest of honor on Bastille Day in honor of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and this Southeast Asian country, swapped its khaki fatigues for a bright blue and red uniform and headdresses shaped like jaguars, eagles, and sharks.

More than 450 Indonesian soldiers, including drum band musicians, opened the traditional marching parade. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto attended the festivities alongside Emmanuel Macron. France has entered into a strategic partnership with Jakarta to exert influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Indonesia is also a major buyer of French weapons, including Rafale aircraft.

For the first time, volunteers from the five Voluntary Military Service (SMV) centers will march down the Champs-Élysées. This unique joint program offers young people aged 18 to 25 who are at risk of dropping out of school both military and vocational training, with a high success rate: 86% successful integration, including 15% into the armed forces.

Two horses failed. One horse bolted just before the finish in front of the official grandstand, while another fell, apparently without serious injury to the rider or the horse, which was quickly able to get back in the saddle.

The centenary of the Bleuet de France, a foundation helping veterans, victims of war, widows, and orphans, was celebrated at the close of the Bastille Day celebrations in Paris. Eloïz, a country singer, a former volunteer deputy gendarme, and rocker Yvard from Périgord, a former gendarme who led nearly 200 high-risk missions in overseas operations and counterterrorism, performed a song called « On y va, » composed by Jean-Jacques Goldman. The singer had donated it for the association’s centenary. They then performed the Marseillaise.

A total of 7,000 men and women participated in this parade, along with 102 planes and helicopters and 200 horses. Part of the French army was to parade in combat gear, not parade dress.

©2025 – IMPACT EUROPEAN

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