French President Emmanuel Macron has thanked his US counterpart during Bastille celebrations. Donald Trump is on hand as the guest of honor to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the US's entry into World War I.
Image: Reuters/C. Archambault
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Bastille Day celebrations in Paris
Traditional Bastille Day celebrations begin in Paris under high security measures. Donald Trump is guest of honor. DW has the pictures.
Image: Reuters/P. Wojazer
France's Bastille Day
Troops parading for the traditional military parade.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Jocard
Arrival in a military jeep
French President Emmanuel Macron and Chief of the Defense Staff of the French Army General Pierre de Villiers arrive on the Champs-Elysess avenue.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. van der Hasselt
Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump
The Trumps are honorary guests at this year's celebrations.
Image: Reuters/C. Platiau
US troops in WWI uniforms
US troops were taking part in the parade.
Image: Reuters/Y. Herman
US troops leading parade
About 200 troops from US European Command were leading the parade to mark the centennial of the US entry into World War I.
Image: Reuters/Y. Herman
French Republican Guard
Members of the French Republican Guard march as they arrive for the traditional Bastille day military parade.
Image: Reuters/Y. Herman
Arc de Triomphe
The parade marks 100 years since the Americans entered World War One.
Image: Reuters/E. Laurent
The French Tricolore
Jets from the Air Force Patrouille de France flying over the French sky.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Loeb
Security first!
Tight security measures were high priority.
Image: Reuters/G. Fuentes
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On his first Bastille Day as president, Emmanuel Macron attended the French capital's military parade alongside his US counterpart, Donald Trump.
"The history of France does not start on the 14th of July, 1789, but on that day the people of France showed which ideals they wanted to follow," Macron told the nation in an address following the march. "We have also found allies and friends we could trust and who came to the rescue," he added. "Among those is the United States of America. This is why nothing will ever come between us."
This year's parade commemorated the centenary of the US's entry into World War I and featured military aircraft and soldiers from both countries to stress the continued Franco-American martial cooperation in the Middle East and elsewhere.
"This is a wonderful national celebration," Trump had said during a joint news conference with Macron ahead of the celebrations on Thursday. "We look very much forward to it," he added. "Spectacular."
Fearing attacks, police emptied the famed Champs-Elysees two hours before the parade began, along with the Place de la Concorde, the largest square in Paris, at the avenue's eastern end.
Also on hand was DW's Max Hofmann.
'Forever joined together'
Afterward, Macron planned to head to the southern city of Nice, where last year an extremist plowed a truck into a crowd gathered to celebrate the holiday on the Promenade de Anglais, killing 86 people and injuring hundreds more.
One year on: Nice remembers victims of terror attack
As Nice remembers those that died in the terror attack on July 14, 2016, we look at some of the images from the southern French city a year after the event that killed 86 people.
Image: Reuters/E. Gaillard
Soldiers on the Promenade des Anglais
Armed soldiers patrol along the Promenade des Anglais as part of the commemorations of last year's July 14 fatal truck attack in Nice. Since last year's attack armed soldiers on French streets have become a far more common sight.
Image: Reuters/E. Gaillard
White roses too
White roses are placed on a chair along the Promenade des Anglais as part of the commemorations of the attack that killed up to a dozen children.
Image: Reuters/J.P. Amet
Telling personal stories
Photographs of some of the people killed are on display in front of a memorial to the attack.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Kunigkeit
Tree huggers
People look at photos of victims hung on a tree near the site of the attack on the Promenade des Anglais. The city is still in reflective mood a year after the attack.
Image: Reuters/J.P. Amet
An outpouring of grief
Onlookers and mourners pass by the site of the terror attack a day after it happened, July 15, 2016. Many laid flowers on the spot, which became a focus for mourning.
Image: DW/D.Regev
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With that in mind, Macron's government deployed more than 130,000 civil servants and members of France's security services to protect this year's Bastille Day celebrations, according to figures from the Interior Ministry.
On Thursday, the presidents met while French first lady Brigitte Macron gave her US counterpart, Melania Trump, a tour of Paris and the foursome reconnected for dinner at the Eiffel Tower. "Our two nations are forever joined together by the spirit of revolution and the fight for freedom," Trump said.
