France flexes military might alongside allies in Paris

PARIS (CN) — Over 7,000 soldiers marched down the Champs Élysées on Tuesday morning in Paris, as fighter jets tore through the sky, tuning out drums echoing below. Over 25 heads of state attended the annual Bastille Day parade, but this year was different — on a day that typically embraces French patriotism, hundreds of foreign soldiers took part in the procession.

“The theme of [this] July 14th is European strategic awakening,” a source from the Élysée said ahead of the parade. “It will truly be a historic parade because this international aspect will be a strong symbol of a Europe that is waking up, becoming aware of the dangers of the world, and realizing that it must take its destiny into its own hands — just as some of our partners across the Atlantic are encouraging us to do, for that matter.”

When a black car dropped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy off at the procession on Tuesday, the crowd delivered a standing ovation for the official guest of honor. The parade occurred on the heels of a big day in renewed support for Ukraine; on Monday, 37 heads of state from the Coalition of the Willing met nearby to announce new security guarantees as it continues to fight off Russia’s full-scale invasion, which included a new Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition.

“The Coalition of the Willing was really created for Ukraine … . It was initially created almost to reduce reliance on the U.S. and create a more pan-European approach to aid for Ukraine,” Abishur Prakash, author of “The Great Fracturing: How Geopolitics is Breaking the World,” said. “And now it’s becoming a different vehicle, which is to drive this strategic sovereignty or strategic autonomy in Europe.”

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted leaders including outgoing U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer,German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. First lady Brigitte Macron greeted them upon arrival on the Place de la Concorde Tuesday morning.

Ten different European nations participated in a flyover of fighter jets and military aircraft, which were equipped with dummy weapons for the first time, according to a source from the Élysée, in order to show “a desire to rearm.” Various bands of foreign troops opened the procession with flags in hand.

Neil Quilliam, a foreign affairs specialist at Chatham House, believes France was attempting to show that Europe is moving from “just coming out with nice political statements” to actually “coming up with some form of practical security cooperation.” This has become more critical in the age of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, which has put longstanding alliances onto shaky ground.

“I heard a phrase few days ago: ‘There’s no going back,’” Quilliam said. “This is the new reality, so basically, Europe’s preparing for a world in which American support becomes less predictable than it was in the past.”

The concept of strategic autonomy has come to the forefront of Europe’s political discourse in recent months. However, Prakash said that while the “parade is just optics” — even if the visuals are important — real questions remain as to where the continent stands on its race toward sovereignty.

“There are real limits right now in how autonomous Europe can become regarding America, and how much Europe can aid Ukraine without America. The direction is set, but there are serious constraints on how they move in that direction because the U.S. remains at the core of aid for Ukraine,” Prakash said. “The U.S. remains at the core of long-range strikes on Russia, the U.S. aid for Ukraine is in a different league compared to Europe right now, and I don’t just mean financial — I mean technological, intelligence-wise, satellites, the whole spectrum.”

In his view, Europe’s various strategic initiatives will go into full force if the U.S. says “we’re out.”

“So this is almost like a geopolitical safety net,” Prakash said. “If the U.S. steps away, all of this — these ecosystems, this integration — it’s locked and loaded.”

Andrea Teti, an associate professor of political science at the University of Salerno, is skeptical as to whether Europe’s approach — and display of military might — can facilitate an end to the Russia-Ukraine War.

“Europeans should be putting at least half as much effort into finding a constructive resolution between Russia and Ukraine that they are in warfighting,” he said. “As the Europeans are ramping up their support, it’s going to become harder — both for political reasons and strategic reasons — for the Russians to ignore the hand that feeds Ukraine … . So the more the Europeans up the ante, the more they actually make a [confrontation with] Russia more likely.”

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