PARIS — France’s annual Bastille Day celebration this year carries a message that extends well beyond French borders. Soldiers and warplanes from nations across Europe are participating in Tuesday’s grand parade through the streets of Paris, in a deliberate display of support for Ukraine and a demonstration of European military capability.
For President Emmanuel Macron, this marks his final Bastille Day in office, and he is using the occasion to host roughly 30 fellow world leaders. The gathering appears designed to signal to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump that Europe stands united and is taking its own defense seriously.
At the same time, the country’s biggest national holiday is being disrupted by rapidly spreading forest fires and a dangerous heat wave — the third such event in France this year — leading officials to cancel traditional fireworks displays and firefighters’ balls in several areas.
Bastille Day falls on July 14 each year, marking the date in 1789 when Parisians stormed the Bastille fortress and prison, an act that helped ignite the French Revolution. That revolution ultimately toppled the monarchy and led to the executions of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette.
Today, the holiday holds a central place in French life. Presidents use it to celebrate national achievements and pride, local mayors organize village festivals, and families come together for holiday meals.
The highlight of the day is the parade beneath the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs-Elysees — the very event that inspired U.S. President Donald Trump to organize his own military parade last year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will stand alongside Macron and approximately 30 other heads of state or government in the designated viewing area.
Ukrainian soldiers will march along the historic cobblestone avenue, and Ukrainian co-pilots who received training in France will fly two Mirage 2000B fighter jets side by side with French air force pilots.
Speaking Monday evening, Macron called it a “great honor” to welcome “all the partners in the coalition of the willing and our Ukrainian friends who will march with us and illustrate its strategic reawakening and our unity.”
The parade will open with approximately 500 soldiers representing the “coalition of the willing” — a group of countries that have committed to assisting with Ukraine’s security after the war ends.
Military aircraft from Germany, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Poland, Denmark, Greece, Sweden, Norway, Spain, and Italy will participate in the aerial portion of the event.
This year’s parade will set a new record for troop participation, with 6,800 soldiers marching — up from 5,810 in 2025.
Wildfires are currently burning in the Fontainebleau forest south of Paris and in regions of southern France. In response, authorities in several areas, including Paris itself, have prohibited fireworks and the traditional firefighters’ balls typically held around Bastille Day. The Eiffel Tower’s drone light show was not affected and went ahead Monday night as planned.
