{"id":934208,"date":"2026-07-14T12:02:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T12:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/934208\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T12:02:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T12:02:21","slug":"bastille-day-celebrations-unite-europe-in-support-of-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/934208\/","title":{"rendered":"Bastille Day celebrations unite Europe in support of Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"

PARIS (AP) \u2014 Ukrainian fighter pilots and troops took pride of place in France\u2019s national Bastille Day<\/a> celebrations Tuesday as a massive parade showcased support for Ukraine<\/a> and symbolically flexed European military muscle.<\/p>\n

On President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s<\/a> last Bastille Day as president, he hosted around 30 other leaders for an event that appeared aimed at showing both Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump that Europe is united and stepping up to defend itself.<\/a><\/p>\n

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was given an ovation from the assembled European leaders as he arrived and his country\u2019s troops got the biggest cheers of the day from crowds on the tree-lined Champs-Elysees avenue. Zelenskyy and Macron shared repeated hugs at the end of the parade.<\/p>\n

France\u2019s biggest national holiday coincided with raging forest fires<\/a> and a red-alert heat wave<\/a> that forced the cancellation of traditional fireworks and firefighters\u2019 balls.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what to know about Bastille Day this year.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"French<\/p>\n

French soldiers march during the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue, in Paris, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo\/Thomas Padilla)<\/p>\n

French soldiers march during the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue, in Paris, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo\/Thomas Padilla)<\/p>\n

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It commemorates the start of the French Revolution<\/p>\n

It\u2019s celebrated on July 14 because that\u2019s the day Parisians stormed the Bastille fortress and prison in 1789, helping spark the French Revolution that overthrew the monarchy and sent King Louis XVI and his queen Marie-Antoinette to the guillotine.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Jets<\/p>\n

Jets from the acrobatic Patrouille de France fly during the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo\/Thomas Padilla)<\/p>\n

Jets from the acrobatic Patrouille de France fly during the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo\/Thomas Padilla)<\/p>\n

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Bastille Day holiday is central to the French calendar and national identity. Presidents use it to vaunt France\u2019s accomplishments, mayors across the country host village festivals and families gather for holiday meals.<\/p>\n

The centerpiece is the Paris parade beneath the Napoleon-era Arc de Triomphe and along the Champs-Elysees avenue, which inspired Trump to stage his own parade<\/a> last year. <\/p>\n

A huge French tricolor flag hanging below the monumental arch rippled in the wind as a military band on horseback rode down the tree-lined avenue followed by Macron standing in an open military vehicle to kick off the parade.<\/p>\n

Spectators wore hats and brandished small fans to fend off the heat as a formation of air force planes roared overhead trailing red, white and blue smoke.<\/p>\n

Ukraine is a special guest<\/p>\n

Zelenskyy joined Macron along with some 30 other heads of state or government in the special viewing area for the parade.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian troops marched along the cobblestoned avenue, and Ukrainian co-pilots trained in France were on board two Mirage 2000B fighter jets alongside French air force pilots.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"European<\/p>\n

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, centre right, greets Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy before the start of the annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris, France, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (Benoit Tessier\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, centre right, greets Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy before the start of the annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris, France, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (Benoit Tessier\/Pool Photo via AP)<\/p>\n

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\u201cI feel very proud for the fact that they\u2019re here and for the fact that we\u2019re marching alongside of them and I think it as well it will create better ties with them and NATO and to be a part of that history,\u201d 21-year-old U.K. soldier Lance Cpl. Patrick Risso said of the Ukrainian involvement.<\/p>\n

Troops from around Europe are marching<\/p>\n

On the ground, the parade opened with around 500 troops from the \u2033coalition of the willing\u2033 grouping of countries that have pledged to help with Ukraine\u2019s postwar security.<\/p>\n

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Macron said Monday night that it\u2019s a \u2033great honor\u2033 to welcome to the parade \u2033all the partners in the coalition of the willing and our Ukrainian friends who will march with us and illustrate its strategic reawakening and our unity.\u2033<\/p>\n

The foreign fighters in combat fatigues and dress uniforms marched with their national flags, in a break with tradition \u2014 usually only one foreign country is invited to take part in the parade. It was the first time in some 20 years that British troops took part. Ukrainian forces got the loudest cheers from the crowd.<\/p>\n

In the skies, aircraft from Germany, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Poland, Denmark, Greece, Sweden, Norway, Spain and Italy were taking part.<\/p>\n

The parade set a record in terms of number of troops: The Paris military governor said 7,600 troops were marching this year, compared with 5,810 in 2025. Thousands of soldiers started taking up positions early Tuesday, many taking selfies as helicopters flew overhead.<\/p>\n

The heat is disrupting the holiday<\/p>\n

Forest fires are raging in the Fontainebleau forest south of Paris and in areas of southern France, as the country suffers through its third heat wave this year.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Fireworks<\/p>\n

Fireworks and drones illuminate the Eiffel Tower in Paris, during the eve of Bastille Day celebrations late Monday, July 13, 2026. (AP Photo\/Thomas Padilla)<\/p>\n

Fireworks and drones illuminate the Eiffel Tower in Paris, during the eve of Bastille Day celebrations late Monday, July 13, 2026. (AP Photo\/Thomas Padilla)<\/p>\n

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As a result, authorities in some regions \u2014 including the French capital \u2014 banned fireworks and firefighters\u2019 balls customarily held around Bastille Day.<\/p>\n

The Eiffel Tower\u2019s fireworks and drone show was maintained, however, and held Monday night, including a drone formation shaped like the Statue of Liberty \u2014 a gift from France to the United States that arrived in New York in 1885 to mark the U.S. centennial, the end of the American Civil War, and friendship between the two countries.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PARIS (AP) \u2014 Ukrainian fighter pilots and troops took pride of place in France\u2019s national Bastille Day celebrations…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":934209,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[69,8703,4216,156,57,8132,50,376636,80,3657,273,274,3656,103,107],"class_list":["post-934208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-donald-trump","tag-emmanuel-macron","tag-fires","tag-france","tag-general-news","tag-military-and-defense","tag-news","tag-patrick-risso","tag-politics","tag-russia-ukraine-war","tag-ukraine","tag-vladimir-putin","tag-volodymyr-zelenskyy","tag-world","tag-world-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116918234071111961","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=934208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/934209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=934208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=934208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=934208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}