Parade as a symbol of Europe's awakening

Emmanuel Macron presided over his last Bastille Day military parade in Paris yesterday, held during a severe heatwave and wildfires that have forced the cancellation of traditional fireworks and balls across France, the Guardian reported.

The French president was joined at the annual military parade and flyover by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and about two dozen other national leaders.

Macron said on Monday evening that he was honored to welcome "all partners from the coalition of the willing and our Ukrainian friends, who will march with us and demonstrate its strategic awakening and our unity" to the parade.

The parade, which commemorates the storming of the Bastille in 1789, followed a meeting in Paris on Monday of Western allies supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia. About 500 soldiers from those countries marched alongside French troops, the British newspaper reported.

Foreign soldiers, including British soldiers for the first time in about 20 years, marched in combat and ceremonial uniforms, carrying the flags of their respective countries, a departure from tradition. Usually, only one foreign country is invited to participate.

The flyover involved aircraft from Germany, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Poland, Denmark, Greece, Sweden, Norway, Spain and Italy.

Twenty-five Ukrainian soldiers also marched down the Champs-Elysees, while Ukrainian co-pilots flew French Mirage jets, in what one French official described as “a strong signal that Europe is waking up and realizing how dangerous the world has become.”

The parade, the largest ever held in France, with almost 6.700 soldiers, 98 aircraft, 31 helicopters and 315 vehicles, was also intended to demonstrate “the rearmament of France, the strategic autonomy of France and the strategic awakening of Europe,” an official told the Guardian.

French Deputy Defense Minister Alice Ruffo said the parade showed "a Europe that is united and determined to support Ukraine in the face of Russia, a Europe that has confidence in itself."

However, many local authorities have cancelled Bastille Day fireworks displays over fears of a high risk of new forest fires, as France is hit by its third heatwave of the summer, with temperatures above 35 degrees across much of the country.

About 850 firefighters and four firefighting planes, taking water from the Seine, continued to battle two fires ravaging the Fontainebleau forest, a former royal hunting ground popular with hikers and climbers, about 60 kilometers southeast of Paris.

The fires, which broke out on Sunday and Monday, had burned about 2.050 hectares, or approximately 10 percent of the forest, by noon yesterday, authorities said.

The fires have forced about 1.000 people in and around Fontainebleau to flee their homes. Authorities are investigating whether the fires were deliberately set and have arrested two people, including an 18-year-old, on suspicion of arson.