Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi attended Bastille Day Parade as Guest of Honour at the invitation of H.E. Mr. Emmanuel Macron, President of France, on the Champs-Élysées on 14 July 2023.To mark the 25th anniversary of the India-France Strategic Partnership, 241 member tri-service Indian armed forces contingent led by a military band also participated in the Parade.
The Indian Army contingent was led by the Punjab Regiment, along with the Rajputana Rifles Regiment.Rafale Jets of the Indian Air Force, from the 101 Squadron from Hashimara, formed a part of the fly past during the parade.
July 14 marks the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789 during the French revolution, that symbolizes the democratic values of ‘Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’, the central theme of both the Indian and French constitutions.