Bastille Day marked with fly-past as Emmanuel Macron calls for military review

Drones joined 65 planes and 25 helicopters in the skies of Paris

French elite acrobatic flying team "Patrouille de France" (PAF) release smoke in the colours of the French flag as they perform a fly-over the Louvre Pyramid during the Bastille Day military parade in Paris on July 14, 2022. (Photo by Martin BUREAU / AFP)

The flying team soars over the Champs-Elysees in the heart of the French capital. AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron rides in a vehicle during the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees. AFP

Troops march down the Champs-Elysees. AP

A French Airbus A330 is followed by Air Force fighter planes over Paris. AFP

Members of the Paris Sapeurs-Pompiers Brigade march. AFP

Mr Macron reviews troops on the Champs-Elysees. AFP

Students of the special military school of Saint-Cyr take part in the annual Bastille Day military parade. Reuters

Aircraft of the Patrouille de France release coloured smoke over Paris. Reuters

A Reaper drone performs a flyover during the parade. AFP

France has celebrated Bastille Day in style in Paris with a spectacular parade that included the latest high-tech drones, as President Emmanuel Macron said the war in Ukraine meant the country should review its military capabilities.

The French elite acrobatic flying team, Patrouille de France, released red, white and blue smoke — the colours of the French flag — as they roared over the Louvre.

In gorgeous weather, they soared over the Champs-Elysees as troops marched below.

On the ground, members of the fire brigade and the Saint-Cyr military school marched in the celebrations.

The drones joined 65 planes and 25 helicopters in the skies over Paris as Mr Macron joined the parade in a military vehicle. More than 6,000 people, 200 horses, and 181 vehicles were also took part.

On the eve of Bastille Day, Mr Macron praised Ukraine’s ability to stand up to Russia’s aggression. He also called for a review of France’s military organisation to make it more nimble in the face of changing threats, as well as for a “rethink” of the country's military presence in Africa.

“Each and every one of us was struck by the Ukrainian nation’s moral strength that allowed it to hold on despite an initially unfavourable balance of power,” Mr Macron said.

“I’ve asked the minister, the joint chief of staff and the general delegate for armaments to review the pertinence of our organisations, our structures and even the way we look at things … to sometimes be able to make decisions faster, to coordinate better and with efficiency, and to adapt to the evolutions of conflicts.”

The motto of this year’s Bastille events, Share the Flame, is a reference to France hosting the summer Olympic Games in 2024.

The spectacle will close with a fireworks display at the Eiffel Tower.

Some Bastille Day celebrations have been curtailed as the heatwave blanketing the country means tinder-dry foliage is a fire risk. Towns near the country's forests have banned fireworks.

Bastille Day marks the July 14, 1789, storming of the Bastille prison by angry Parisian crowds that helped spark the French Revolution and by extension, a spirit of national unity, thanks to the broad rights granted to citizens in the ensuing years.