Macron: Freedom has never been as threatened since 1945 as it is now

French President Emmanuel Macron said tonight that "freedom has never been so threatened" since the end of World War II in 1945 as it is now and "never has peace on the European continent depended so much on immediate decisions."

"We are living in a moment of turmoil. We have long understood its inevitability," Macron said in his traditional address to the armed forces on the eve of Bastille Day.

"Never before has peace on our continent depended so much on our current decisions," Macron added, citing "imperialism and annexation powers" like Russia, which launched a war against Ukraine in February 2022.

The international order established after World War II is increasingly challenged and weakened, and "since there are no more rules, the law of the strongest prevails," Macron said.

France needs to "face so many challenges to remain free, master of its own destiny," he added.

Macron said in the same address that he wants to strengthen the planned defense budget with another 3,5 billion euros of spending in 2026, and then another three billion euros in 2027, so that the defense budget will double during his two terms.

"An update of the law on the military issue" for the period 2024-2030 "will be presented in the fall," the French president said.

France will mark its national holiday, Bastille Day, tomorrow with a traditional military parade on the famous Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, local media reported, adding that the parade will be held in light of increased security measures due to instability in the world.

The holiday is celebrated to commemorate the storming of the Bastille, the infamous Parisian fortress-prison, on July 14, 1789. It was one of the key moments of the French Revolution.

The fall of the Bastille symbolized the unity of the nation and the end of the absolutist monarchy. After that, on August 26, 1789, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was adopted. This declaration later established the French national values - liberty, equality and fraternity (Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite).