WATCH: India Air Force's contingent set to march in Bastille Day Parade as Indian Rafale jets will thunder in air

“This is really thrilling for us. Looking at the Champs-Élysées itself, it is coloured in blue, white and red. It is all so decorated and the crowd is new. We are so excited to hear what their reaction will be and what their cheers will be,” said Squadron Leader Sindhu Reddy.

“We are excited because it is a new ground and a new feeling. The troops want to do their best. We have two Rafales flying the flypast for today. Air Force is showing their presence in the air as well as ground. This is a complete package force,” Reddy added ahead of the parade.

#WATCH | Squadron Leader Sindhu Reddy says, “This is really thrilling for us. Looking at the Champs-Élysées itself, it is coloured in blue, white and red. It is all so decorated and the crowd is new. We are so excited to hear what their reaction will be and what their cheers will… pic.twitter.com/afW4LDBymU

— ANI (@ANI) July 14, 2023

Indian Navy Contingent

The Indian Navy Marching Contingent, as part of the Tri services contingent, arrived in France for participation in the Bastille Day Parade at Paris on July 14. The Navy team on parade will comprise of four officers and 64 sailors. The contingent will be led by Cdr Vrat Baghel. The officer is a specialist in Gunnery and Missile Warfare and has sailed on the French Ship BCR Var during exercise Varuna. He will be followed by his deputies, Lt Cdr Disha Amrith (who led the Indian Navy Contingent at the RD Parade 2023), Lt Cdr Rajat Tripathi and Lt Cdr Jittin Lalitha Dharmaraj.

To commemorate the event, the Indian Navy is also being represented by INS Chennai, an indigenously built frontline destroyer, which will be deployed to France between July 12 and 16. The ship’s crew will represent India at the Bastille Day celebrations at Brest.

Indian Navy is amongst the largest Navies in the world with a potent mix of ships, submarines and aircraft. It’s motto in sanskrit ‘Sam No Varunah’ (meaning May the lord of oceans be auspicious unto us) has been taken from Rig Veda which dates back to 1500 BC.

PM Modi as Chief Guest

The India-France strategic partnership has completed 25 years. It’s a big diplomatic milestone and to mark it Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in France. He will be in Paris on 13 July and 14 July at the invitation of French president Emmanuel Macron. There will be bilaterals, the focus will be on defence and space. And one of the highlights of the visit will be the Bastille Day celebrations to which the Indian premier has been invited as a guest of honour.

It’s a rare honour. On Bastille Day or French national day, the country holds the Bastille Day parade, said to be the oldest and largest in Europe. It’s a lot like India’s Republic Day; there is a display of France’s military strength. But unlike India, foreign leaders are seldom invited to the celebrations. This makes the presence of PM Modi all the more significant. The last time a foreign leader was invited to Bastille Day was in 2017 – it was then US president Donald Trump.