Bastille Day
The "Fête de la Fédération"on 14 July 1790 was a celebration of the unity of the French nation during the French Revolution. The aim of this celebration, one year after the Storming of the Bastille, was to symbolise peace. The event took place on the Champ de Mars, which was located far outside of Paris at the time. The work needed to transform the Champ de Mars into a suitable location for the celebration was not on schedule to be completed in time. On the day recalled as the Journée des brouettes ("The Day of the Wheelbarrow"), thousands of Parisian citizens gathered together to finish the construction needed for the celebration.
Bastille Day military parade
To mark the centennial of the outbreak of the First World War, the 2014 parade started with a detachment of soldiers wearing the 1916 blue-grey French uniform which was followed by colour guards from the 69 other countries involved in the Great War aside from France itself. The motorised parade ended with a limber team carrying a 75mm field gun, immediately behind the mounted French Republican Guard Cavalry Regiment. The 2014 parade ended with a choreographic performance by José Montalvo. The performance included 250 young dancers from the eighty countries which fought in the war; it took place on the Place de la Concorde. The eight-minute performance to a clarinet concerto by Mozart included echoes to "La Sardane de la paix" and "La Colombe", two paintings by Pablo Picasso, as well as "Les Oiseaux" by Georges Braque. The dancers released doves at the end of the performance, a symbol of peace through strength after the military parade. The national anthem and classic French patriotic songs "La Madelon" and "Chant du départ" were sung a cappella by the French Army Chorus during the pre-parade segment.
The 2015 edition, which had 250 less personnel due to domestic and international deployments of the French uniformed services, celebrated the 70th year since the end of the Second World War and the liberation of France from the Axis, as well as France's determination to fight all forms of terrorism. This parade saw the debut appearance of two special forces units of the French National Police and the GIGN from the National Gendarmerie, which had seen action during January's Charlie Hebdo shooting incident as well as cadets of the Heroic Military Academy, Heroic Naval School and the Air Force College from Mexico. In tribute to all the French fallen and veterans of the Second World War the "Patrouille de France" flew over the dais, in Cross of Lorraine formation. The pre-parade segment saw the French Navy Band forming the same formation together with the French Army Chorus, which sung "Le Chant des Partisans" a capella before singing the national anthem. In celebration of 70 years since the liberation of France and the end of the Second World War in Europe, these were joined by six recipients of the Order of Liberation, and colour guards of units that had been awarded with the order for their actions as part of the Free French forces.
The 2016 parade marked a massive increase in the number of participants, with 5,800 taking part in the march past itself. Personnel from the French Prisons Service Directorate of the Ministry of Justice were included. Participating units represented French military and police actions within France and overseas, partly as a result of the November 2015 Paris attacks. As a tribute to casualties amongst security and military forces, the "Patrouille de France" flew over the dais in a silhouette of the Effel Tower, while a 4,000 strong children's choir, dressed in the national colours, sang the national anthem alongside the French Army Chorus. Increased anti-terror efforts were marked by the marchpast of armed forces basic training institutions and personnel involved in counter-terrorist operations. In addition, to mark the 2016 national centennial of the events of the Battle of the Somme and the formation of the Lafayette Escadrille, marching in the parade were an ANZAC contingent from both the Australian Defence Force and the New Zealand Defence Force while several aircraft of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa - including one in the historical Lafayette Squadron colours - joined the flypast.