In addition to the Ukrainian troops in France’s annual parade, Ukrainian officials are now in Paris for talks with their French counterparts.

Ukrainian military personnel and combat aircraft are set to take part in the annual Bastille Day Military Parade in Paris for the first time this year. The French national holiday is typically celebrated with a historic and highly formal display of its military units, including a flyover by the Patrouille de France (PAF), the official aerobatics demonstration unit of the French Air and Space Force.

This year’s event will also include Ukrainian pilots flying over the famed Champs-Élysées in Mirage 2000B fighter jets, with an additional 25 Ukrainian soldiers set to march down the boulevard alongside representatives of 34 other “Coalition of the Willing” countries. Each delegation is sending between seven and 25 service members for this year’s parade, and the international contingent is expected to include a total of 503 troops marching on foot through the French capital. More than 6,000 French military personnel are also expected to take part, even as Paris is enduring a heat wave, recording some of its highest temperatures ever.

Despite a heat wave, final rehearsals for the parade were held on Saturday, giving Parisians a preview of what can be expected on Tuesday.

This year’s Bastille Day parade will be the 10th and final one to be overseen by President Emmanuel Macron before his term ends in May 2027.

The PAF Are Back in France After Demo for the Fourth

The parade on Tuesday will open with the PAF flyover of the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet, an aircraft used by the official aerobatic demonstration team since 1981. The team operates 10 of the jets, each painted in the French tricolor of blue, white, and red, and equipped with a smoke generator that releases the iconic colored smoke during performances.

This will be the PAF’s first demonstration since returning to France after it took part in last week’s “Liberté 250” tour, a symbolic tribute to the longstanding alliance between the United States and France with a flyover of New York City. The colored smoke was also released, but with the color scheme reversed from the French blue, white, and red to the American red, white, and blue.

France-Ukraine Meetings on the Sidelines of Bastille Day

The PAF will be accompanied by two French Mirage 2000B two-seat jet fighters, with French pilots at the controls and a recently trained Ukrainian aviator serving as the co-pilot.

“The Mirage 2000B jets used in the flyover are the same aircraft Ukrainian pilots trained on. Ukraine’s Air Force reported near-perfect 98 percent effectiveness of its Mirage 2000s against Russian drones and missiles in November 2025,” Euromaidan Press reported.

All of Ukraine’s pilots received their training at the Nancy and Cazaux air bases, spending nearly six months in the twin-seat Mirage 2000B trainers before transitioning to the single-seat combat-ready Mirage 2000-5F.

France delivered the first Mirage 2000-5F to the Ukrainian Air Force in February 2026, and Paris could send additional aircraft to aid in Kyiv’s ongoing war effort.

In addition to Tuesday’s parade and Bastille Day celebrations, this week is also seeing a meeting of leaders of the Coalition of the Willing, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. At least 25 heads of state from across Europe are expected to attend.

Macron said the talks were meant “to demonstrate that Ukraine’s supporters remain firmly committed to standing alongside the Ukrainian people, that there is absolutely no sign of fatigue, and that Russia cannot count on any such fatigue setting in.”

Kyiv launched its most recent drone strike against Russian infrastructure in the early hours of Monday, which included more than a dozen towns and villages near Moscow. All of Moscow’s four major airports were briefly closed.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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