Swat teams join Bastille Day march

TODAY’S Bastille Day parade on the Champs-Elysées is Europe’s largest and oldest yet can still break with tradition – as with the decision this year to include the previously secret Gendarmerie and Police Nationale attack teams.

Starting at 10.30 with President Hollande’s drive down the avenue with the mounted Republican Guard surrounding him it will continue a few minutes later with the arrival overhead of the 12 Alphajets of the Patrouille de France who will, for the first time, be flying in Cross of Lorraine pattern and trailing blue, white and red smoke.

The celebrations for the Fête Nationale continue in the centre of Paris with the infantry and then armoured brigades before the mounted regiments – and including a flypast by military helicopters.

Google’s daily Doodle honours the Fête Nationale with three animated graphics by Calais artist Loup Blaster representing Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité.

Celebrations will take place across France with most major towns organising their own fireworks displays but some have been cancelled due to weather problems related to the heatwave. Displays in Haute-Loire, Essonne, Indre-et-Loire, Aube and Eure-et-Loir have been hit due to fears of spent fireworks causing fires.

Happy Bastille Day! #FeteNationale #14juilletNZ #BastilleDayNZ pic.twitter.com/o4yCsdLi2h— France in NZ (@AmbafranceNZ) July 13, 2015

Today’s Paris parade is led by 149 cadets and five officers from the Mexican army and gendarmerie to mark a state visit by Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto.

They will be followed immediately in the parade by 21 members of the elite GIGN, Raid and Brigade de Recherche et d'Intervention police attack teams who are rarely in the spotlight due to their work in anti-terror and hostage situations.

President Hollande invited the Swat teams to take part as thanks for their work after January’s terror attacks and to pay homage to the three officers killed.

Exceptionally the GIGN members will have their faces uncovered during the parade, but they will not be operational officers. The Raid and BRI teams will wear their attack helmets and sunglasses to maintain anonymity – and TV crews have been warned not to take any close-ups.

A total of 3,501 men and women will be on parade today along with 208 vehicles, 55 aircraft, 31 helicopters and 237 Garde Républicaine mounted troops.

Meanwhile security has been tightened round the parade in the wake of yesterday’s attempted hostage-taking at a Primark shop in Paris suburb Villeneuve-la-Garenne and today’s early-morning explosions at the petrochemical works at Berre l'Etang in Bouches-du-Rhône.

The celebrations continue throughout the day with President Hollande interrupting them at 13.00 for a televised address to the nation in the wake of the Greece European talks.

This evening will see the Orchestre National de France taking to the Champ de Mars under the Eiffel Tower at 21.15 for a classical music concert and then, at 23.00, the start of a giant firework display lasting 35 minutes.

Certain Metro stations will be closed during the morning parade and evening fireworks display with Concorde and Tuileries closed in the morning and Dupleix, Passy, Iena, Trocadéro and Motte Picquet-Grenelle closed at night. However, RATP has extended train services for the fireworks, with the network closing at 2.15.

* Find out more on the history of the Fête Nationale parade in this month’s July issue of Connexion on sale in good newsagents now (find them here www.findthepressinFrance.com) – or click here to download a pdf version now for €3.50.