Bastille Day celebrations in France tempered by fear of more wildfires

1:05 France holds annual Bastille Day parade in Paris – video Bastille Day celebrations in France tempered by fear of more wildfires Firework displays cancelled as Paris military parade asserts ‘France’s rearmament .. and Europe’s strategic awakening’ Europe live – latest updates Emmanuel Macron has presided over his final Bastille Day parade in Paris amid a searing heatwave and wildfires that forced authorities around the country to cancel traditional firework displays and balls celebrating France’s national day. The French president was joined for the annual military procession and flypast by his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the British ‌prime minister, Keir Starmer, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, and two dozen other national leaders. Macron said on Monday night it was a great honour to welcome to the parade “all the partners in the coalition of the willing and our Ukrainian friends, who will march with us and illustrate its strategic reawakening and our unity”. The parade, which marks the 1789 storming of the Bastille fortress, followed a meeting in Paris on Monday of the western allies supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia. About 500 soldiers from those countries marched alongside French troops. The foreign fighters, including British troops for the first time in about 20 years, marched in combat fatigues and dress uniforms with their national flags in a break from tradition. Usually only one foreign country is invited to take part. Aircraft from Germany, the UK, Croatia, Poland, Denmark, Greece, Sweden, Norway, Spain and Italy took part in the flypast. View image in fullscreen French air force jets fly past statues over the entrance to the Tuileries Garden in Paris. Photograph: Maya Vidon-White/UPI/Shutterstock Twenty-five Ukrainian soldiers also marched down the Champs-Elysées and Ukrainian co-pilots flew French Mirage jets as part of what a French official said was “a strong signal that Europe is waking up to how dangerous the world has become”. The parade, France’s largest ever with nearly 6,700 troops, 98 aircraft, 31 helicopters and 315 vehicles, was also intended to display “France’s rearmament, France’s strategic autonomy, and Europe’s strategic awakening”, the official said. France’s deputy defence minister, Alice Rufo, said the procession showed “a Europe united and determined to support Ukraine in the face of Russia, a Europe that is confident in itself”. However, many local authorities cancelled Bastille Day firework displays because of concerns about the high risk of more forest fires as France suffers its third heatwave of the summer, with temperatures in the high 30s across much of the country. France celebrates Bastille Day with fireworks in Paris About 850 firefighters and four water-bombing planes using water from the Seine continued to battle two wildfires ravaging the Fontainebleau forest , a former royal hunting ground popular with hikers and climbers about 40 miles (60km) south-east of Paris