French
President Emmanuel Macron and US counterpart Donald Trump marked France’s
Bastille Day together on Friday at a
military parade that showcased their
warming relations.
Macron
invited Trump to be his guest of honour at the pomp-filled military parade down
the Champs-Elysees which the two men watched with their wives.
The Trumps
and the Macrons at the Paris parade
Bastille Day
commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789 — the start of the
French Revolution and a turning point in world history.
Spectacular
aerial show in Paris
This year’s
Bastille Day celebrations were also tinged with mourning, one year on since a
vicious Islamist attack in the Mediterranean city of Nice where a man drove a
truck into a crowd, killing 86 people.
The Paris
parade this year also marked the centenary of the United States entering World
War I in 1917 and was set to feature 63 planes, 29 helicopters, 241 horses and
3,720 soldiers.
Macron,
standing in a jeep surrounded by dozens of republican guardsmen on horseback,
smiled and waved to the crowds amassed along the Champs-Elysees as he arrived
for the parade.
Applauding
the marchers for a great show: The Trumps and Macron
“This is a
wonderful national celebration,” Trump said at a joint news conference with
Macron on Thursday, adding: “We look very much forward to it. Spectacular.”
“Our two
nations are forever joined together by the spirit of revolution and the fight
for freedom,” he added.
Macron
rolled out the red carpet for Trump’s two-day visit, hoping to improve
relations and persuade the US president to change his mind about withdrawing
from the global Paris agreement on climate change.
The warm
body language between the two leaders evident in Paris was at odds with broader
concerns about the transatlantic relationship since Trump’s election victory in
November last year.
*Source: AFP
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