[EN IMAGES] July 14 parade: a record edition in the streets of Paris

Ukrainian soldiers and 35 countries, a record number of troops on foot, planes and armored vehicles: the 2026 edition of the July 14 parade in Paris was intended to be massive on Tuesday, highlighting the “strategic awakening of Europe” and an army “ready for combat”.

• Also read: PICTURES | The Fontainebleau forest still in the grip of flames, more than 1,900 hectares burned in France

A few hours before possible popular jubilation on the Champs-Élysées in the event of France’s victory in the semi-final of the Soccer World Cup, more than 50,000 spectators attended under radiant sunshine the traditional national day parade equipped with a QR code, an obligatory key in the name of security surrounding the event, in which 25 foreign leaders participated.

They came to see marching at their own pace, in fatigues or in ceremonial uniform, contingents from each of the 35 countries of the “coalition of the willing” for Ukraine who paraded before the eyes of their head of state or government, notably the German Friedrich Merz, the British Keir Starmer and the Pole Donald Tusk.

Croatian troops from the Coalition of Volunteers of Invited Foreign Nations take part in the annual Bastille Day military parade on Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, July 14, 2026.

AFP

Twenty-five Ukrainian soldiers, who have been fighting Russia’s large-scale invasion of their country for more than four years, followed them, applauded by the presidential gallery and by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, himself given a standing ovation upon his arrival.

President Emmanuel Macron described their presence as “a symbol of fraternity, courage and shared destiny”.

French President Emmanuel Macron (CG) parades aboard the command vehicle alongside Chief of Defense Staff Fabien Mandon (CD) during the annual Bastille Day military parade on Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, July 14, 2026.

AFP

The day before, the coalition countries meeting in Paris agreed to support Kyiv in the long term, including for some by sending soldiers on the ground once a hypothetical ceasefire was concluded with Russia.

While Moscow threatens the security of the continent and Donald Trump’s United States is perceived as unpredictable, this parade constitutes “a physical incarnation of strategic solidarity between our countries”, judged X the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, General Fabien Mandon.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Place de la Concorde during the annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris, July 14, 2026.

AFP

« Efforts financiers »

Nearly 6,700 soldiers on foot, 98 planes, 31 helicopters and 315 vehicles: never before have so many soldiers paraded between the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde for the national holiday.

The parade opened with the Patrouille de France, accompanied by two French Mirage 2000s, with Ukrainian co-pilots trained in France on board and with a denser air parade than usual to illustrate the “rearmament” undertaken by France.

Marines of the French Armed Forces march during the traditional July 14 military parade on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, July 14, 2026.

AFP

French planes flew over the prestigious Avenue des Champs-Élysées with for the first time under their wings models of weapons, such as the Scalp cruise missile, demonstration of an army that wants to be “combat ready”.

For his last parade as head of the Armed Forces, Emmanuel Macron, who will leave power in 2027, also intended to show the rise in power of the French armies in ten years of presidency, during which the French defense budget will have doubled.

Mirage 2000D and 2000-5 aircraft from the French Air and Space Force perform a flypast during the annual Bastille Day military flypast over the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, July 14, 2026.

AFP

“What we wanted to show our compatriots is that the financial efforts that have been made (…) were shown concretely with more men, more vehicles, more planes and more technologies,” according to General Loïc Mizon, military governor of Paris and responsible for organizing the parade.

Griffon or Jaguar armored vehicles and drones on their carrier trucks illustrated the modernization of equipment in recent years.

Troops from the Coalition of Volunteers from invited foreign nations participate in the annual Bastille Day military parade on Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, July 14, 2026.

AFP

“Battlefield”

For the Élysée, the parade was designed as a “strategic signal, that is to say a message that France sends, that of powerful armies which are capable of entering first into a conflict, of fighting”.

The French soldiers deployed on the eastern flank of Europe, notably in Estonia and Romania, but also the aviators in the Baltic countries or the clearance divers in Bulgaria and Romania were also highlighted, before the passage of the military schools.

Troops from Air Base 702 of the French Air and Space Force in Avord march during the traditional Bastille Day military parade on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, July 14, 2026.

AFP

The army continues to enjoy a broad favorable opinion among the French and the military parade is seen as an important symbol of national identity among 80% of those questioned, according to an Ipsos BVA poll.

The spotlight on Ukraine and European cooperation, however, garners fewer votes, with 42% of respondents not approving it.

The Republican Guard on horseback parades during the traditional Bastille Day military parade on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, July 14, 2026.

AFP

At the end of the parade, concluded with musical entertainment in honor of the 400 years of the National Navy, the Head of State treated himself to a crowd bath by multiplying kisses and self-portraits with admirers, some of whom sang “Macron president!” “.

He is expected at the end of the day in Nice to pay tribute to the 86 dead and more than 400 injured in the attack perpetrated on the Promenade des Anglais on July 14, 2016.