India will be the guest of honor at the traditional military parade held on the occasion of France's National Day in Paris, amidst tight security measures this year following the riots that occurred in the country.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the military parade on the Champs-Elysées on Friday morning as a guest of honor alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.
This visit will provide an opportunity to discuss the purchase of 26 new Rafale fighter jets from Dassault Aviation and three submarines, a deal that received India's preliminary approval on Thursday.
Macron and Modi will make a joint announcement before a meeting at the Élysée Palace at 17:05 local time (15:05 GMT) and an official dinner at the Louvre Museum.
Paris and New Delhi are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their strategic partnership, which France aims to strengthen to have a presence in the Asia-Pacific region, despite allegations against India by non-governmental organizations of adopting authoritarian tendencies.
Macron stated on Thursday evening in a speech to the armed forces, "India will play an important role for our future; it is also a strategic partner and a friendly nation."
The parade will involve 240 members of the Indian armed forces, and the air parade will include three Indian Rafale aircraft, according to the Élysée Palace.
These celebrations take place in a tense security atmosphere. At the end of June, the killing of a teenager by a police officer during a traffic stop led to several nights of rioting and major damage.
The government has deployed reinforcements in an attempt to contain the traditional events that take place during the celebrations, with approximately 45,000 police officers, gendarmes, elite units, and armored vehicles mobilized from Thursday evening until Saturday evening.
Around 10,000 police officers and gendarmes will be deployed in Paris and the surrounding areas.
This year's celebrations will involve 6,500 participants, including 5,100 on foot. More than 60 aircraft, including foreign planes, 28 helicopters, 157 vehicles, and 62 motorcycles, will take part in the air parade, accompanied by 200 horses from the Republican Guard on the Champs-Elysées.
On Thursday evening, President Macron announced that in 2024, the year of the Summer Olympic Games in France, the parade will be exceptional.
Amid the return of war to Europe since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, one of the objectives of this parade will be to "remind" France's commitment to "strategic solidarity with its allies," according to General Christophe Abad, the military governor of Paris.
Twelve countries that assisted France during a decade of military deployment in the Sahel region will be highlighted, including Canada and European nations.
Additionally, six partner African military colleges (Benin, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Madagascar, Ivory Coast, and Senegal) will participate in the parade with veterans of the French military academies.
To symbolize France's military assistance to Ukraine, Caesar self-propelled howitzers and AMX-10 RC armored vehicles, the type delivered to Kyiv, will be displayed.
On the other hand, this aims to embody the increase in the armies' budget, as the parliament definitively adopted a new law on military programming worth 413 billion euros by 2030, an increase of 40% compared to the previous programming.
Macron stated on Thursday that this law "is what our armies need."
The light armored vehicle Serval will be presented for the first time on Friday, as well as the new H160 helicopter manufactured by Airbus Helicopters.
The "moral forces" of France will be the theme of the parade. The active reserves, which will double in number by 2030 to reach 80,000 volunteers, will be honored.
A ceremony will take place in the Place de la Concorde, featuring young people, reservists, and individuals from national and civil service, celebrating the spirit of resistance by commemorating the year 1943, when the French Resistance Medal was established, the National Council of the Resistance, and the death of Resistance hero Jean Moulin.
A fireworks display will be held from the Eiffel Tower in the capital in the evening, as is customary. A symphony concert will also take place in the Champs de Mars Park, performed by the National Orchestra of France, focusing on the theme of brotherhood.
AFP