Our Blog - Bastille Day in Paris - July 2007

Much like our 4th of July, Bastille Day, the 14th of July is a huge event in France as it celebrates the beginning of the French Revolution and the downfall of the empire. It starts with a parade down the Champs Elysses and continues until late at night with fireworks near the Eiffel Tower.

Walking from our apartment to the parade route we stopped to take a picture of the Arc de Triomphe. As you would expect on a day of patriotic pride, the French flag was waving prominently on the Arc.

Most of those participating in the parade are from the military, here is a clear picture of one of the many soldiers we would see.

Not all of those from the military were from the 21st century, here is what looks like the calvary.

You can barely make out Nicolas Sarkozy waving to the crowd from automobile. We did not know he was coming until we heard the large cheer, although it was a contentious election he is currently very popular in France.

There were multiple flyovers of various types of planes during the beginning of the parade. This is one of the better pictures we got of a group of fighters.

Another picture of the military riding along in their jeep, this time along a side-street near the Champs Elysses.

A little bit larger than a jeep, not all of the military equipment was used for warfare, in this case this is for the Red Cross.