PARIS, July 14 -- Emmanuel Macron, France's youngest president in modern history, on Friday celebrated his first-ever Bastille Day, or French National Day, with the usual pomp, military parade and flight show, commemorating the centenary of the United States entering World War I.
Alongside his guest of honor U.S. President Donald Trump, Macron presided over the military parade down the Champs Elysees Avenue with some 3,720 soldiers, including 211 armored vehicles, 241 horses and 92 jets and helicopters flying over the sky.
At around 10:30 local time (0830 GMT), French fighter jets, Rafale and Mirage 2000 followed by U.S. F-16s opened the annual parade with an air show, symbolizing the two countries' military cooperation.
After an infamous fierce handshake in their first meeting in May, Macron, a pro-business reformist and Trump, an advocate of nationalism, looked relaxed during the parade.
"This is a wonderful national celebration. Our two nations are forever joined together by the spirit of revolution and the fight for freedom," Trump said at a press meeting on Thursday.
Macron said Washington remains Paris' strategic ally despite strong disagreement over climate change.
"One needs to continue dialogue even with disagreement. I'm in strong conflict with President Trump over the climate issue. But it's essential to have regular exchanges," he said.
"We have found reliable allies, friends, who came to our rescue; the United States of America is one of them. The presence of President Donald Trump and his wife is a sign of a friendship that goes through time and I want to thank them for the choice made 100 years ago," Macron told the gathering on Friday.
After the parade, the French president joined a commemoration in the southern city of Nice to honor the 86 people who were killed when a man drove a truck at a crowd celebrating the Bastille Day last year.
少儿英语圣经故事35:Stephen Is Persecuted受逼迫的司提反
少儿双语幽默小故事:Naughty Brother顽皮的弟弟(双语阅读)
少儿英语圣经故事32:Pete learns to Control His Words彼得的口
少儿英语圣经故事40:Elijah以利亚
少儿英语圣经故事22:Story of Joshua约书亚的故事(6)
少儿英语圣经故事41:Elijah以利亚
少儿英语圣经故事13:Story of Moses摩西的故事(7)
少儿英语圣经故事42:Elijah以利亚
少儿英语圣经故事31:Life is valuable人的价值
少儿英语圣经故事17:Story of Joshua约书亚的故事(1)