Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers take part in Bastille Day celebrations in France

Bastille Day celebrations were held in France. This year, soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) participated in it. On July 14, Izvestia correspondent Margarita Kostiv showed how the celebrations are going in Paris.

"For the first time, soldiers from all NATO countries are here. The calculations were increased by a third, to 9 thousand soldiers, and twice as many vehicles as before. No one remembers Bastille Day anymore. [French President Emmanuel] Macron calls this parade nothing less than a "strategic awakening of Europe," the correspondent said.

In honor of the holiday, a wedge of 11 fighters flew over the French capital. They painted the sky of Paris in the colors of the French flag. There are military personnel and equipment everywhere on the streets of the city. Now in Paris you can meet both gendarmes on horseback and modern armored vehicles with machine guns on the roof.

This year, for the first time, soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also took part in the military parade. This caused a mixed reaction among the French. Social media users criticized the decision and said that the national holiday had turned into a political event. Some called the presence of Ukrainian troops disgusting, and Ukraine itself a "bandit state."

"The applause is only from the heads of state of bandits like Ukraine. Macron has turned France's national holiday into a NATO backyard," said one social media user.

Bastille Day is a French national holiday celebrated annually on July 14th. It was on this day in 1789 that Parisians stormed the Bastille prison fortress, a symbol of the despotism of the monarchy. There were only seven prisoners in it, but the event itself became a symbolic beginning of the Great French Revolution.

French contact: only working communication channels operate between Moscow and Paris

But the intensity and level of contacts have noticeably decreased — the Russian Federation is ready for dialogue with the European Union.

On the eve of the holiday, on July 13, a summit of the "coalition of the willing" was held in Paris. On the eve of the meeting of Kiev's allies, the passage to the main attraction of the French capital, the Eiffel Tower, was completely blocked. Kostiv noted that the tight security measures have turned into a political show that precedes the joint statement of the anti-Russian bloc.