Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP 15:40 pm, July 12, 2023

India will be the guest of honor at the traditional military parade on July 14 in Paris, on the occasion of the national holiday, organized this year under close surveillance after the recent riots that have engulfed the country.

Guest of honor, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend Friday morning with Emmanuel Macron the military parade on the prestigious Avenue des Champs Elysees, before an official dinner at the Louvre Museum.

Macron and Modi, who share "a very warm personal relationship" and "a common vision," according to Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwarta, will make a joint statement after a meeting at the Elysee Palace scheduled for 17:05 p.m. (15:05 GMT).

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Strategic partnership

Paris and New Delhi are celebrating this year the 25th anniversary of their strategic partnership, which the France aims to strengthen to have influence in the Asia-Pacific region. Major customer of the French defense industry - New Delhi has acquired 34 Rafale and 6 Scorpene submarines -, India could announce a new contract 26 Rafale Marine (for aircraft carriers) and three submarines, according to the newspaper La Tribune.

The foot parade will be opened by 240 members of the Indian Armed Forces and the flypast will include three Indian Rafale, according to the Elysee. In total, the 2023 edition will bring together 6,500 participants, including 5,100 on foot. More than 60 planes, including foreign aircraft, 28 helicopters, 157 vehicles and 62 motorcycles will parade with the 200 horses of the Republican Guard.

While war has made its return to Europe with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, one of the objectives of this parade will also be to "recall the attachment" of the France "to strategic solidarity with (its) allies," according to the military governor of Paris, General Christophe Abad.

An initial table will highlight 15 countries that have helped France during a decade of military engagement in the Sahel: Americans, Canadians and Europeans. Another spotlight: students from six African military high schools partners (Benin, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Ivory Coast, Senegal) will march with the residents of French military schools.

80,000 volunteers in 2030

To embody French military aid to Ukraine, Caesar guns and AMX10-RC armored vehicles, of the type given to Kiev, will parade in front of Parisians. This event will also be intended to embody the increase in the budget of the armed forces, while Parliament must vote before Friday a new Military Programming Law (LPM) with a global envelope of 413 billion euros by 2030, an increase of 40% compared to the previous LPM. Deputies and senators reached a compromise on Monday on the project.

The Serval light armoured vehicle will parade for the first time. Another novelty: the Airbus H160 helicopter, which will be honored in the table of light aviation of the Army. The "moral forces" of the France will be the theme of the parade. A notion dear to the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, General Thierry Burkhard.

The operational reserve will be honored, whose number will more than double by 2030 to reach 80,000 volunteers. The final animation, played Place de la Concorde by young reservists, universal national service (SNU) and civic service, will celebrate the spirit of the Resistance by commemorating 1943, year of creation of the medal of the French Resistance, the creation of the National Council of the Resistance, the death of the hero of the Resistance Jean Moulin and the birth of the "Song of the partisans".