Comprehensive French media reported that France held a National Day military parade with the theme of "Sharing the Flame" on July 14. 6,300 soldiers, 64 aircraft, 25 helicopters, 181 vehicles, and 200 Republican Guard horses participated in the parade. "Shared Flame" has three meanings: the "Fire of Connection" between the army and the country, the "Fire of Resistance" by Hubert Germain, the last World War II veteran who died last year, and the "Olympic Flame" in Paris in 2024. This year's military parade has the following main highlights: First, troops from nine Eastern European countries were invited to open the parade to pay tribute to NATO and the French troops stationed in the nine countries. Second, the "Reaper" drone used to encircle and suppress jihadists in the Sahel region made its debut. Third, the Kaiser howitzer, a heavy weapon aided by Ukraine, and the two armored vehicles Jaguar and Griffin have attracted widespread attention.
After the National Day military parade, Macron accepted nearly an hour of television interviews on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, energy, various reforms, the new government, the second term and other issues. Regarding the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Ma said that the war will continue and France will continue to impose sanctions on Russia and provide humanitarian, economic and political support to Ukraine to avoid the spread of the war. France, the largest military power in Europe, will not cut its military budget and will introduce a new version of its military planning law. Regarding energy, Russia uses energy as a "weapon of war." France is not highly dependent on Russian natural gas, but it is working hard to diversify its energy supply and replenish its inventory. It should be prepared not to use Russian gas at all in the future. Ma also mentioned that he hopes to reform the European electricity market and requires the public sector to take the lead in implementing energy-saving plans to cope with climate change. In the face of high energy prices, the government will provide subsidies to those who really need it.
