France celebrated its national holiday Thursday with thousands of French troops marching down the Champs-Elysees avenue alongside allies from Eastern Europe.
Military on display for Bastille Day
The Patrouille de France (France's fighter jet squadron, Eds.) leaving clouds of blue, white and red smoke flying over La Defense towards the Champs-Elysees.
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AFP
The traditional parade also featured warplanes, military vehicles and a drone in a performance showing off France's might and its military efforts to support Ukraine.
The opening of this year's Bastille Day parade was designed to demonstrate France's commitment to NATO and to European allies touched most closely by the war in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine 20 weeks ago.
The flyover of fighter jets wowed the crowd, especially the opening formation that trailed red-white-and-blue smoke over the Arc de Triomphe.