France is celebrating its national holiday Wednesday with thousands of troops marching in a Paris parade and traditional parties around the country.
Security work on a rooftop at the Place de la Concorde prior to the Bastille Day parade in Paris, Wednesday July 14, 2021. Bastille Day is the French national holiday that commemorates the beginning of the French Revolution on July 14, 1789. France celebrated its national holiday Wednesday with thousands of troops marching in a Paris parade, warplanes roaring overhead and traditional parties around the country, after last year’s events were scaled back because of virus fears.
At the Paris parade, the number of onlookers was limited. Each person attending had to show a special pass proving they had been fully vaccinated, had recently recovered from the virus or a had negative virus test. Similar restrictions were in place for those watching an elaborate fireworks show at the Eiffel Tower on Wednesday evening., glad to be able to see the parade in person even if frustrated with the restrictions and long lines for virus security checks.
The clatter of hundreds of horseshoes accompanied military music as uniformed guards on horseback escorted President Emmanuel Macron. Some cheers rose up from civilian onlookers as Macron rode past restaurants, luxury boutiques and movie theaters that were shuttered for much of the past year and a half.
Organizers of this year’s parade dubbed it an “optimistic Bastille Day” aimed at “winning the future” and “celebrating a France standing together behind the tricolor to emerge from the pandemic.” While that optimism was widely felt in France a few weeks ago, clouds have returned to the national mood as the delta variant fuels new infections.
Mirage and Rafale fighter jets thundered past in formation. In the final moments of the parade, two horses stumbled, throwing their Republican Guard riders onto the pavement. The guards quickly brought the horses under control and led them away. The reason for the fall was unclear.
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