PARIS, July 14, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Republican Guards march during the annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris, France, on July 14, 2016. (Xinhua/Alan Wilson)
PARIS, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The Bastille Day parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue was dedicated this year to France's national anthem "La Marseillaise" and highlighted the commitment to national security, putting the younger generations into the spotlight.
Held each year on July 14, France's national day, since 1880, the Bastille Day parade was among the oldest regular military parades in the world.
The July 14 celebration opened after the arrival of French President Francois Hollande at the Arc de Triomphe, with a march of 4,000 soldiers from the French Army and the parade of 55 airplanes and 30 helicopters from the French Air Force. Eight Alpha-jets flew by in the shape of the Eiffel Tower, as a symbol of support to the Paris bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games.
As a symbol of unity and values, this year's Bastille Day parade invited Australia and New Zealand as guests of honor, in remembrance to the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of Somme, known as one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War. Some 140 Australian and 85 New Zealand soldiers, including eight Maori warriors, joined the parade. Also, the traditional aerial parade, directed by General Jean-Christophe Zimmermann, features the squadron "La Fayette" in order to honor Franco-American fraternity during the First World War.
Following 2015, a tragic year marked by terrorist attacks in Paris, the 2016 military parade was an occasion to display France's military strength, showing to its nation the personnel in charge of defending their security from external and also internal threats. The parade also marked the last such event in Hollande's five-year term as president, with the approaching presidential elections of 2017.
The march was followed with a chorus of "La Marseillaise", featuring 400 high-school volunteers,and the aerial acrobatics of Captain Alexandre Orlowski, world air race champion that would close up the Bastille Day celebration.
