2025 Bastille Day Military Parade | French Foreign Legion Information

On July 14, 2025, the traditional military parade marking France’s national Bastille Day holiday was held along the iconic Champs-Élysées in Paris, an event that has been regularly organized in the French capital since 1880. Four detachments of the Foreign Legion participated.

The military parade was presided over by French President Emmanuel Macron and marked a return to its customary route from Place de l’Étoile to Place de la Concorde, after last year’s parade was held on Avenue Foch — only the second time in history the event was moved from its usual location.

More than 7,000 participants took part in the parade this year, including approximately 5,600 marching troops, around 100 aircraft, nearly 250 motorized vehicles, and 200 horses from the Republican Guard.

Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, was this year’s guest of honor. Over 400 Indonesian military personnel joined the parade, accompanied by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who attended at the invitation of President Macron.

They were not the only foreign contingents present. A small detachment from Finland marched as part of the Franco-Finnish joint force, which has been serving in the UN mission in Lebanon since 2012. A platoon of Belgian and Luxembourgish troops currently deployed in a NATO force in Romania also participated.

As in previous years, the French Foreign Legion was a notable presence. The Legion was represented by 39 Pioneers with their traditional beards, leather aprons, and axes; a 57-member Foreign Legion Band, regarded as one of the finest military bands in the world; and about 100 legionnaires from the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP) based in Calvi, Corsica, led by Colonel Raphaël Oudot de Dainville along with their color guard.

Due to their marching pace which is significantly slower than that of typical French Army units, the Foreign Legion traditionally concluded the marching formations, proceeding almost alone down the avenue before the start of the motorized columns. The parade of vehicles featured, among others, 11 VBMR Griffon armored vehicles from the Legion’s 13th Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE), led by Colonel Benjamin Brunet and accompanied by the regiment’s colors.

VIDEO – 2025 Military Parade:
The marching Foreign Legion can be seen in the video starting at 01:36:40, and the 13th Demi-Brigade in Griffons appears from 01:50:13.

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