French President Emmanuel Macron marked his final Bastille Day military parade on Tuesday, dedicating the ceremony on the Champs-Élysées to Ukraine and its international backers. Nearly 6,800 troops marched past the presidential tribune, including roughly 500 foreign soldiers from 35 nations. A contingent of 25 Ukrainian troops closed the international procession, while two Mirage 2000 jets with Ukrainian co-pilots flew overhead — aircraft Paris has pledged to Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended alongside dozens of foreign leaders, including Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The eve of the holiday saw the Coalition of the Willing reaffirm continued military support for Ukraine, with Macron announcing joint maneuvers of a multinational protection force set for Poland in autumn 2026.
More than 50,000 spectators lined the route as 7,000 police secured the event. Evening commemorations also marked the tenth anniversary of the Nice attack.