Bastille Day, also known as Fête Nationale Française, is celebrated every year on 14 July in France.
New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the guest of honor at the Bastille Day celebrations in France on Friday. French President Emmanuel Macron’s red carpet welcome comes weeks after PM Modi was accorded the rare honor of a White House state dinner in Washington.
The Indian Tri-Services is also going to be an integral part of the Bastille Day celebrations. Ahead of the Bastille Day parade on July 14, Indian tri-services, Army, Navy and Air Force contingents conducted a practice session in France on Tuesday.
A 269-member contingent of the Indian Armed Forces will march along with their French counterparts.
Bastille Day, also known as Fête Nationale Française, is celebrated every year on 14 July in France. It marks the storming of the Bastille in 1789, the country’s Independence Day, marking the beginning of the French Revolution. The day represents unity among the French people.
The Fête de la Fédération, or Feast of the Federation, on July 14, 1790 marked the beginning of a new era and ended absolutism. Thousands of people from different provinces gathered on the Champ de Mars in Paris, where Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord conducted a mass at the altar of the Fatherland.
The roots of the alliance between the armies of India and France go back to the First World War. More than 1.3 million Indian soldiers were involved in this conflict. Bastille Day assumes special significance this year as India and France complete 25 years of their strategic partnership. The armies of both the countries have been engaged in joint exercises fostering a strong bond by exchanging their military expertise. Over time, both the countries have become trusted defense partners and strengthened their partnership.
PM Modi’s France itinerary includes a set of meetings with Mr Macron, including a private dinner and a joint meeting with the CEO, besides a state banquet at the iconic Louvre Museum on Bastille Day. During this visit, PM Modi will also interact with the Indian community in France.
PM Modi had last week said on Twitter that he was “looking forward to meeting my friend President Macron”.