European leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday for the traditional Bastille Day military parade in Paris, which this year honoured European military cooperation.
After riding down the iconic Champs Elysees boulevard in a military vehicle escorted by motorcycles and a cavalry procession, Macron joined leaders also including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa for the parade, which began with a display of tech innovations.
The attractions included drones, miniature autonomous vehicles, soldiers armed with anti-drone guns, and what looked like a “flying soldier” – a man swishing in the air on a flyboard, drawing cheers from the leaders and spectators.
Bastille Day commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789, one of the key events of the French Revolution. The day has become a national holiday in France.