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A July 14 without parade on the Champs-Élysées

2020-07-14T13:09:37.732Z


Covid crisis obliges, the traditional parade has been canceled. It is replaced by a rally of troops on the Place de la Concor


For the first time since 1979, the year in which Giscard preferred to have them parade between the Republic and Bastille, there will be no armored vehicles, soldiers or horses on the Champs-Élysées on July 14, 2020. The Covid-19 sanitary crisis obliges, l army considerably reduces its size. In place of the annual parade of some 4,500 men and women of all uniforms, a troop gathering - "static parade" say the soldiers - will be held on Place de la Concorde (Paris VIIIe). No more than two thousand soldiers and civilians (police, customs, etc.), who will not wear masks but will scrupulously respect the physical distancing imposed by the pandemic, for a ceremony scheduled to last 1h11 farther.

Consolation, in the absence of a motorized parade, everyone can roll their eyes or roll their eyes on their TV screen to admire the air parade, fully maintained. All in the presence of President Emmanuel Macron and his approximately 2,500 guests in the stands, including 1,400 caregivers and representatives of the professions of the famous "second line" which enabled the country to hold - teachers, cashiers, service agents of the communes , etc. But without a mass audience around or on the Champs in ordinary times.

VIDEO. July 14 Parade: Air Force to Honor Caregivers

"Of course, some will have a squeezing throat at that time, the national holiday is a bit our day, we are in the spotlight and can show what we do on mission, regrets a sub- officer who was on a mission to a foreign theater a few weeks ago. But we understand perfectly the health imperatives, many of our comrades participated in Operation Resilience to fight against the coronavirus ”.

No demonstration stands

Also canceled, the traditional demonstration stands of the army, air force and French Navy in the afternoon on the Esplanade des Invalides. There will nevertheless be, installed inside the prestigious building, recruiting offices… "all the more useful, specifies a staff officer, that because of the confinement the engagement operations took a lot of delay ” (Editor's note: the army annually hires around 15,000 to 16,000 recruits) .

Concretely, what will this July 14th look like? In the air, the tribute to caregivers will be seen at the outset, when the 9 Alphajet of the Patrouille de France, flying over the capital at an altitude of 305 m at a speed of 560 km / h, will release a thicker white wake than the blue and red ones. Among the 52 planes, there are two invited British Typhoon fighters (Editor's note: France's military partners despite Brexit) . And it should be noted, in addition to the Rafales and other aircraft engaged in the Levant, the Sahel and elsewhere, the presence of the Airbus A 330 Phoenix of the Air Force. Equipped with the Morphée kit, this flying hospital has enabled the transfer of patients with Covid-19 to relieve some overcrowded hospitals, in the Grand Est region in particular.

Many warships and aircraft were used, as part of Operation Resilience launched on March 25, to transport patients and medical staff, in France and overseas. Thus, in the parade of twenty helicopters, at an altitude of 120 m, the large Caracals will have civilian personnel on board the Samu, as in the heat of the pandemic.

Tribute to General de Gaulle

On the ground, the ceremony will begin with a “living painting” in homage to General de Gaulle on this fiftieth anniversary of his death and 80th anniversary of the June 18 Appeal. A detachment of the aircraft carrier "Charles-de-Gaulle" will be present. Two thirds of the crew, or 1,046 sailors, had been contaminated by the Covid-19, all of them are cured. Among the troops to be reviewed by the Head of State, the Armed Forces Health Service will be in the spotlight, as well as several units, such as the Air Firefighters, engaged in Operation Resilience. Which will have mobilized between 4,500 and 5,000 soldiers in total.

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"Even today, emphasizes the staff, military carers are deployed in Guyana, where a field medical unit has been set up in the hospital of Cayenne". Finally, in the gallery, the ministers of health of four countries - Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg - were invited to thank them for hosting French patients in their hospitals.

Source: leparis

All news articles on 2020-07-14

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