Two French Mirage 2000B fighters opened the Bastille Day flypast over Paris on 14 July, each with a Ukrainian co-pilot in the cockpit, Militarnyi reported. It was the first time Ukrainian pilots had taken part in France’s national parade. French pilots flew the aircraft; the Ukrainians served as second pilots.
The Mirage 2000-5F that France sends to Ukraine is a single-seat aircraft, so there is no room for a passenger. The two-seat 2000B was flown instead—the trainer version. Ukrainian pilots and aircraft technicians are still training on the type at Luxeuil air base in eastern France, ahead of further Mirage deliveries.
What France put in the air
The flypast began at 10:21 a.m. in Paris, ahead of the ground columns. Ninety-five aircraft crossed the sky over Paris—84 French and 11 from other European countries, along with 32 helicopters.
For the first time at a Bastille Day parade, French fighters flew with weapons mock-ups fixed under their wings, among them the Scalp cruise missile France supplies to Ukraine for strikes on Russian targets, France 24 reported. The Élysée called it an unprecedented demonstration of how France’s land and air forces now work together.
It was the largest parade France has staged: 6,686 troops on foot and 315 vehicles, with 98 aircraft and 31 helicopters listed in the official program the day before—a handful fewer flew on the day. Around 500 soldiers from 35 Coalition of the Willing countries opened the march. Twenty-five Ukrainian soldiers followed them.
What leaders said
The parade was French President Emmanuel Macron’s tenth and last as commander-in-chief, as he leaves office in 2027. The Élysée gave it a theme: the strategic awakening of Europe.
“The message we send to the world is this: Yes, peace is our goal. Yes, we cherish freedom and the rule of law. And yes, we stand ready to fight to defend them. Always, and at the cost of blood if necessary,” Macron said in his address to the armed forces on the eve of the parade.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy echoed that message and told the French news channel BFMTV that this parade, this idea of inviting Ukraine, of bringing together the coalition of the willing, of staging this demonstration—all of it is a very good signal.
Then he added that people only realize the war is close, he said, when it comes within 50 km of their border. He thanked the French for understanding—and noted that the problem is not France’s alone: if the war is not in your country, not on your land, not in your house, you cannot feel it.
What Bastille Day is
France’s national holiday marks 14 July 1789, when Parisians stormed the Bastille fortress and prison— the event that started the French Revolution and brought down the monarchy. The military parade on the Champs-Élysées is its centerpiece, and the guest list is always a statement.
The symbolism extended beyond the parade itself. It came a day after Macron hosted the Coalition of the Willing summit in Paris, where European governments discussed a new air-defense initiative built around a Ukrainian interceptor.
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