Paris, 14 July 2019: In Paris, Chancellor Angela Merkel attended the "Bastille Day" celebrations. Along with President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders she watched a military parade through the centre of the French capital.
The invitation extended by President Emmanuel Macron to European partners is a great gesture in terms of European defence policy, declared Angela Merkel.
Emmanuel Macron inspects the troops with the Chief of the Defence Staff François Lecointre. The 14 July is France's national holiday to mark the storming of the Bastille in 1789 and the start of the French Revolution.
Soldiers of the Franco-German Brigade took part in the parade along the Champs-Elysées. The binational military unit based in Müllheim in Baden-Württemberg celebrates its thirtieth anniversary this year.
This is an honour and a sign of enhanced European cooperation - and with a view to the Treaty of Aachen also a sign of strong Franco-German cooperation, said Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Germany and France signed the new treaty of friendship on 22 January 2019, reinforcing cooperation between the two nations. The treaty aims to secure and promote the security and prosperity of the people, and to make a joint contribution to ensuring a strong Europe that is able to act.
The "Bastille Day" parade featured helicopters, including Bundeswehr helicopters, aircraft and a flying man, who used a jet-powered flyboard.