Jul 12, 2023
PM Narendra Modi will be in France on July 13-14 to attend Bastille Day celebrations and parade as the guest of honour.
Image Source: AFP
A 269-member tri-services contingent of the Indian armed forces will participate in the historic parade alongside French troops on July 14.
Image Source: AFP
Three Rafale jets and a Globemaster C-17 of the Indian Air Force are expected to be part of a fly-past.
Image Source: AP
Bastille Day is one of the most cherished national holidays in France as it marks the beginning of the French Revolution and end of feudalism.
Image Source: AP
Foreign leaders are seldom invited to the parade, which makes PM Modi's presence all the more significant. US President Joe Biden was the last foreign leader to attend the parade in 2017.
Image Source: AFP
Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on July 14 each year. In French, it is called the Fête nationale française (French National Celebration).
Image Source: AFP
The French National Day is the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille (a symbol of royal tyranny and oppression) on July 14, 1789, a major event of the French Revolution.
Image Source: AFP
The first Bastille Day military parade was held in Paris in July 14, 1880.
Image Source: AFP
The parade involves around 9,500 soldiers (7,800 on foot, the rest are crew members or cavalrymen), 380 vehicles, 240 horses and more than 80 planes and helicopters.
Image Source: AFP
The annual parade has had only two interruptions: The first was during the German occupation from 1940-1944, the second was in 2020, when the parade was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Image Source: AFP
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