A July 14 under the sign of European unity and NATO solidarity
French troops deployed on the eastern flank honored
6,300 people including 5,000 on foot, 64 planes, 25 helicopters, 181 motorized vehicles and 200 horses “shared the flame”, on the Champs-Elysées during a parade on July 14, where the war in Ukraine was in all the spirits.
Marked by the return of war to Europe, the 2022 edition of the traditional July 14 military parade notably honored the French and European soldiers engaged on the eastern flank of Europe, in response to the Russian offensive. in Ukraine, launched on February 24. Invited nations, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia opened the parade under the eyes of the President of the Republic and Chief of the Armed Forces, Emmanuel Macron . The nine invited nations, united yesterday by the Warsaw Pact and now members of the European Union and NATO, today host most of the missions of the Atlantic Alliance. In total, 8 NATO missions mobilizing 40,000 soldiers are now being carried out in these Eastern European countries to strengthen the deterrent and defensive posture of the Atlantic Alliance on its eastern flank. In this context, France contributes to the reassurance of its European and NATO allies by being involved in the enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) and the enhanced Air Policing (eAP) in Estonia or by playing the role of nation part of the Battle group forward presence (BGFP) in Romania.
Continue to have an even stronger army
“What is new with Ukraine is the high intensity war on European soil. On the strength of this new context, we must absolutely reinvest and continue to have an even stronger army,” declared the President of the Republic in the gardens of the Élysée during his first television interview since his re-election. With an unprecedented budget increased to 41 billion euros in 2022, the armed forces are continuing to increase in power, particularly in terms of equipment, such as the four armored reconnaissance and combat vehicles called “Jaguar” and the Reaper drone which have , for the first time, parade this year. “All this shows the level of modernization of our armies”, indicated the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, at the microphone of BFMTV.
But beyond the equipment, this July 14, 2022 was intended above all to be a moment of communion between the Nation and its army. With the theme “Sharing the flame”, in reference to the flame of the resistance whose last companion of the Liberation, Hubert Germain, died on October 12 and to the flame of the Olympic Games that Paris will host in 2024, the he 2022 edition of the July 14 parade ended by honoring 26 Olympic and Paralympic medalists, including 18 from the Army of Champions.
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