Comment du Jour

Bastille Day in Paris!!

And it rained, and poured on the Parade


For sheer grandeur, setting and style, there are few military parades in the world which can even remotely compete with Bastille Day in Paris. The French military, and police and even the Paris Fire Department goes all out in a show of spectacular splendor down the Avenue Champs Elysses.

After paying homage at the Tomb of the Unknown at the Arch of Triumph, President Nicolas Sarkozy travelled down the broad avenue flanked by over 100 of the Republican Guard Horse Cavalry. Pagentry is an art form here.

While Mars may have been smiling at the French display of military elan, the meteorological signs were far from favorable. Just as the parade stepped off at 10:35 with the opening flypast the rain started. This did not deter screeching low level flights down the avenue by Mirage jets or even lumbering transports, but dampened the ranks of marchers from the Army, Navy and Foreign Legion.



For nearly 90 minutes France displayed its military pride to rain, then monsoon, and back to rain. The troops were not deterred and the civilians among us were still proud to have seen it.