‘The Awakening of Europe’: Ukrainians to take part in a military parade in Paris

The military parade to mark Bastille Day, which will be presided over for the tenth and final time by French President Emmanuel Macron, is set to be one of the most spectacular yet – with a record number of troops taking part in the march. Among them, for the first time, will be Ukrainians.

Alongside them, representatives from 35 countries of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ – established by France and the United Kingdom to support Ukraine’s security – will take part in the parade. ‘This is a historic parade, as it is international in nature – it marks the awakening of Europe, which is taking its destiny into its own hands, – and because it will be on a grand scale,” officials at the Élysée Palace promised. The number of parade participants this year will be a record high – 6,800 military personnel will march across the Champs-Élysées, 15 per cent more than last year.

There are also plans to increase the number of military vehicles and aircraft by 30 per cent. As noted in the statement, for the first time the parade will feature “aircraft equipped with simulated weaponry”, as well as helicopters that “will fly over the tanks to recreate what might happen on the battlefield”. According to media reports, this is intended to be not merely a spectacle, but a strategic signal.