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Figaro: July 14 parade in France will be more "military"

06 June 2026 21:44 (UTC +04:00)

The parade in honor of National Day, celebrated in France on July 14, will bring together 10,000 military personnel and aim to showcase the results of the country's militarization. More attention will be paid to the combat capabilities of the French army, APA reports citing Le Figaro.

The upcoming parade will depart from the traditional peacetime "patchwork logic" of displaying a little bit of everything, the publication writes. According to the plan, already approved by French President Emmanuel Macron, the number of troops participating in the parade will increase by 15% compared to last year, and the number of ground vehicles and aircraft will increase by 30%.

As the newspaper notes, the proportions of artillery, engineering, and support units supporting the forward bloc will be accurately reproduced on the ground, "as if soldiers of a combat brigade were about to enter a combat zone." Most of the equipment is expected to be new, with the exception of some models, such as VAB armored personnel carriers, and Leclerc tanks will not be in service. Command plans to compensate for their absence with a demonstration of unmanned aerial vehicles, but flights of small drones over the Champs-Élysées have been abandoned for security reasons.

This year, it was decided to display armored vehicles alongside helicopters on the Champs-Élysées to demonstrate the importance of air support for ground operations. Also, for the first time, combat aircraft participating in the parade will be equipped with dummy missiles to "make an impression." The Patrouille de France aerobatic team will fly over Paris, along with two Mirage 2000 fighter jets flown by "French-Ukrainian crews," intended to "symbolize commitment to Kyiv" in the conflict against Russia.

"We organized this parade with the strategic situation in mind. It should serve as a clear demonstration for the French and our allies of the efforts we've undertaken [in the area of rearmament]," General Loïc Mison, military governor of Paris, told the newspaper, noting the parade's massive scale and militarization. He also stated that there will be a segment dedicated to internal security, which will include, among other things, capabilities for combating large fires, as well as radiological, biological, and chemical threats.

The exact list of foreign guests has not yet been confirmed. According to Le Figaro, invitations have been sent to 37 countries participating in the so-called coalition of the willing, formed by Paris and London to coordinate support for the Kyiv regime in the conflict against Russia and potentially send troops to Ukraine after the end of hostilities. Specifically mentioned are the names of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Supreme Allied Commander-in-Chief Europe Alexus Grynkevich.