France trumpets shared European defense on Bastille Day

[left-of-center2012]

France’s annual Bastille Day parade became a showcase for defense cooperation in Europe as leaders of other European nations joined President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday to review their military contingents marching on the Champs-Elysees avenue. Macron hosted a lunch at the presidential Elysee Palace with the other European leaders after the parade.

Flags of the 10 countries participating in the European Intervention Initiative, a French-led joint military pact created at Macron’s initiative, led off the military parade in Paris that featured over 4,000 military personnel, 100 tanks and armored personnel carriers, 69 military airplanes and 39 helicopters.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the invitation to celebrate France’s national holiday “is a symbol for an intensified European cooperation” and “a big gesture toward European defense policy.”

At France’s 2017 Bastille Day events, guest of honor U.S. President Donald Trump was so impressed by the spectacle he ordered a military parade in Washington for America’s July 4 celebrations.



https://www.apnews.com/0391672fdd6344c5bd06a4e881c8a592

[Historic NY]

1. Donnie must be pissed they have horses , swords and bayonets...

oh and tanks.

[left-of-center2012]

2. And Macron is leading the parade.

[dalton99a]

5. He'll have real moving tanks next time

[hughee99]

3. I remember last week when military parades were a waste of money and

A sign of an authoritarian leader... but it’s different now. My how time changes things.

[Recursion]

4. This is part of France's push for an EU military force separate from NATO

That's why Spanish and Portuguese units participated. It was a kind of silly waste of money, but it was at least pursuing a stated national interest.

[dalton99a]

6. The Bastille Day military parade is an old and popular tradition in France

[hughee99]

7. The Independence Day is an old and popular tradition in the US. n/t

[Turin_C3PO]

8. It's not traditional in the US to

display our military like that. If you like it fine, but most Democrats saw Trump’s “celebration” for what it was: authoritarian bullshit.

[hughee99]

9. Thanks for making my point.

Last week, military parades were a sign of authoritarianism. The comparison was that other countries that did such things (and many were named) were authoritarian. Now it's a week later and a country that is not considered to be authoritarian does it, and it's different... you know, because reasons.

[Turin_C3PO]

10. I'm not in France

so I have no real opinion of what their traditions are. I will say that I don’t like any display of the military in parades like that.

[Mc Mike]

11. Vive la France. rec, nt