Europe

pomp, honors to India and major security operation on Bastille Day

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, led the celebrations and military parade of the national holiday in Paris on July 14, which commemorates the Storming of the Bastille in 1789. A commemoration attended by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, as the guest of honour, as Paris seeks to strengthen relations with New Delhi and counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific.

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In the midst of splendor, honors to India and a major security operation, France commemorated Bastille Day on Friday, July 14.

President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, guest of honour, led a ceremony where French and Indian soldiers marched down the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris while French-made Rafaele fighter jets that India bought in 2015 – flew over the Arc de Triomphe.

In the midst of the celebrations, which commemorate the start of the French Revolution on July 14, 1789 with the Storming of the Bastille, the aircraft painted the colors of the French flag in the air with stripes of smoke: blue, red and white. Some 240 Indian troops led the march before thousands of French forces.

“It is a moment of pleasure (…) I came here to share this with my son, to show the strength of our country,” said Aurélie, 38, who attended the parade with her baby, and preferred not to give her last name, due to to the continuing tensions in his neighborhood after weeks of protests.

Modi, the guest of honor

The Indian premier received some of the highest praise as a guest of honor at the Bastille Day military parade, amid a visit in which Paris and New Delhi have sealed high-profile defense deals.

Modi kicked off his two-day visit to Paris on Thursday, July 13, when he was awarded the Legion of Honor, the nation’s highest award, and President Macron extolled India in his speech to French defense officials as a ” key partner”.


However, civil movements and environmental groups have criticized Modi for honoring him. India “has continued to regress in its fight against poverty and inequality, as well as in terms of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” they denounced in a press release.

France usually features international partners at Bastille Day commemorations. This year, India’s choice comes as the Macron administration seeks to further strengthen cooperation in the fight against climate change, military sales and countering China’s growing influence in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.

“Liberty, equality and fraternity”, values ​​tarnished after the death of Nahel

This year, the Bastille Day parade included the march of 6,500 people, 94 planes and helicopters, 219 land vehicles, 200 horses and 86 dogs. In addition, festivities were held in towns and cities across the country to celebrate the French ideals of “liberty, equality and fraternity.”

However, the celebrations this year are marked by several weeks of protests against the security forces after the death of Nahel, a 17-year-old Afro-descendant young man who died at the hands of a police officer, for which mobilizations broke out in several cities against what thousands denounce it as a security abuse with racial overtones.

The deadly point-blank shooting, caught on video, sparked several days of clashes with police, burning buildings and vehicles and looting businesses in cities and towns across France.

Police brigades stand guard at Place de la Republique during a march in memory of Adama Traore, a 24-year-old Frenchman of African descent who was killed in an organized police operation in 2016. Protests against racism and abuse of authority reignited after the death of a 17-year-old Afro youth at the hands of a police officer, in June 2023. In Paris, France, on July 8, 2023.
Police brigades stand guard at Place de la Republique during a march in memory of Adama Traore, a 24-year-old Frenchman of African descent who was killed in an organized police operation in 2016. Protests against racism and abuse of authority reignited after the death of a 17-year-old Afro youth at the hands of a police officer, in June 2023. In Paris, France, on July 8, 2023. © ©Reuters/Gonzalo Fuentes

Faced with this climate of tension and because the riots tend to increase every year around Bastille Day, some 45,000 police and gendarmes, elite units and armored vehicles, including around 10,000 members of the Police in Paris, were deployed. from Thursday night until the night of this Saturday, July 15.

The traditional fireworks were banned in several cities, including Nanterre where Nahel was reported dead, after they were used to target officers in recent riots.

The Ministry of the Interior reported 97 people arrested, linked to acts of urban violence and 218 cars set on fire throughout the country, between Thursday night and early Friday morning.

With Reuters and AP



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