Bastille Day march 'from another era'

THE GREEN party candidate for next year's presidential election has called for France's traditional July 14 military parades to be scrapped and replaced with something that all citizens can enjoy and be involved with.

Eva Joly, who this week won the primary race for environmental party Les Verts-Europe Ecologie, says the défilé on the Champs-Elysées does not accurately represent France's values.

She told Europe 1: "I think the time has come to get rid of the military parades on July 14, because they belong to another era.

"We could replace it with a parade for all citizens, where we would see schoolchildren, students and elderly people happily march together and celebrate."

Thousands of French troops took part in yesterday's parade in Paris - on foot, in tanks, on horseback and flying past in fighter jets.

This year's event honoured army personnel deployed overseas as well as the work of Paris firemen. President Sarkozy dedicated the parade to the five French soldiers killed in Afghanistan earlier this week.

Photo: cgo2/Flickr