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The war in Ukraine left its mark on Paris’ traditional Bastille Day military parade, as France honored its NATO allies from Eastern Europe.
French troops stationed near Ukraine since the Russian attack in February featured prominently in the national holiday, which was attended by President Emmanuel Macron, his government and French and foreign dignitaries.
“The parade is marked and takes into account the strategic context”, an official in Macron’s office said. “The idea is to emphasize strategic solidarity with our allies,” he added.
Almost five months after Russia attacked Ukraine, the parade on the Champs-Elysees opened with the presentation of the national flags of nine invited allied countries, most of them neighbors of Ukraine or Russia: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary , Romania and Bulgaria.
Paris accelerated the deployment of 500 troops to Romania days after the Russian attack on Ukraine and has signaled its readiness to increase the number if necessary.
Bastille Day is usually celebrated with a military parade with thousands of troops marching down the central Promenade in Paris, while also serving as a display of high-tech military equipment.
This day commemorates the taking control of the Bastille Castle-prison by the people in Paris in 1789, one of the main events of the French Revolution and is today the national holiday of France.
The joy of the celebration, however, was somewhat overshadowed by the news that a 7-year-old boy and his 24-year-old sister were killed by fireworks in Cholet.
The two victims were watching the pyrotechnic show with other family members and were about 50 meters away from the launch pad when the accident happened.
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