truthseeker2010
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France marks Bastille Day with military parade
French forces, including contingents with troops in Afghanistan and warplanes in Libya, have celebrated Bastille Day with a military parade along the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
But Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, appeared tense at Thursday's annual show of pomp, dedicated this year to forces in France's far-flung regions and those posted in foreign countries.
A French soldier was killed in Afghanistan on Thursday, one day after 5 others died there in a suicide attack. Mr Sarkozy also just returned from a surprise visit to French troops in Afghanistan, where he announced the first phase of France's troop withdrawal plan.
He said later that he wants this Bastille Day "to be dedicated to all the soldiers killed in operations".
The holiday marks the July 14, 1789, storming of the Bastille prison in Paris by angry crowds, which helped spark the French Revolution.
Mr Sarkozy on Thursday held an emergency security meeting about the death of the five French soldiers who were killed in an Afghan suicide attack.
Mr Sarkozy said the meeting, which gathered his prime minister, defence and foreign affairs ministers and military top brass, was to discuss how to keep French combat troops safe before they quit Afghanistan by 2014.
"The most complex period to handle is the transition and withdrawal period," he told reporters on the Champs Elysees as he inspected the giant annual military parade there attended by tens of thousands of onlookers.
"I have announced a withdrawal calendar for our troops in Afghanistan. This withdrawal will begin this years and will carry on until 2013. We had a job to do and we have done it," the president said.
Here are the images of the parade
French forces, including contingents with troops in Afghanistan and warplanes in Libya, have celebrated Bastille Day with a military parade along the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
But Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, appeared tense at Thursday's annual show of pomp, dedicated this year to forces in France's far-flung regions and those posted in foreign countries.
A French soldier was killed in Afghanistan on Thursday, one day after 5 others died there in a suicide attack. Mr Sarkozy also just returned from a surprise visit to French troops in Afghanistan, where he announced the first phase of France's troop withdrawal plan.
He said later that he wants this Bastille Day "to be dedicated to all the soldiers killed in operations".
The holiday marks the July 14, 1789, storming of the Bastille prison in Paris by angry crowds, which helped spark the French Revolution.
Mr Sarkozy on Thursday held an emergency security meeting about the death of the five French soldiers who were killed in an Afghan suicide attack.
Mr Sarkozy said the meeting, which gathered his prime minister, defence and foreign affairs ministers and military top brass, was to discuss how to keep French combat troops safe before they quit Afghanistan by 2014.
"The most complex period to handle is the transition and withdrawal period," he told reporters on the Champs Elysees as he inspected the giant annual military parade there attended by tens of thousands of onlookers.
"I have announced a withdrawal calendar for our troops in Afghanistan. This withdrawal will begin this years and will carry on until 2013. We had a job to do and we have done it," the president said.
Here are the images of the parade
