Video: watson/Emanuella Kälin
July 14, 2026, 1:57 p.mJuly 14, 2026, 4:01 p.m
With his last military parade on France’s national day at the end of his second term in office, President Emmanuel Macron sent a powerful signal of support for Ukraine.
Video: watson/Emanuella Kälin
At the head of the parade on the Champs-Élysées in Paris marched 500 soldiers from member countries of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, which supports the country attacked by Russia. The “Patrouille de France” aerobatic team was accompanied by two Mirage fighter jets with a French-Ukrainian crew.
The VIP stand at the military parade is packed with international politicians.Image: keystone
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attended the parade in the official gallery, along with around 30 other heads of state and government from the Coalition of the Willing.
Coalition of the Willing strengthens Ukraine’s back
The evening before, the Coalition of the Willing, led by France and Great Britain, reaffirmed its willingness to provide further military support to Ukraine at a meeting in Paris. In addition to promising further arms deliveries and cooperation on missile defense, Macron announced the coalition’s first joint maneuvers. As Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in Paris, these military maneuvers are scheduled to take place in Poland this fall. Troops from France, Great Britain and Poland are involved.
France celebrates Bastille Day in 2026 with a military parade
On this national holiday, France commemorates the storming of the Bastille in 1789, which is seen as the symbolic beginning of the French Revolution. (nil/sda/dpa)