To adapt the celebration of July 14 to health requirements, the traditional parade on the Champs-Elysées will be replaced by a military ceremony on Place de la Concorde, which will also pay tribute to caregivers, announced the Elysée on Thursday. The ceremony will include "a tight device reduced to 2,000 participants and approximately 2,500 guests", in compliance with the rules of social distancing, said the presidency.
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"The ceremony, which will include an air parade, will honor the participation of our armies in the fight against covid-19, through Operation Resilience; it will also pay tribute to the nursing staff whom the French applauded each evening during the confinement period as well as to all the actors mobilized against the virus, "said the Elysee. There are currently no plans to open the event to the general public, but "the situation could be reassessed by July 14" if the health situation is better, the Elysée said.
Macron wanted to express "the recognition of the nation"
On May 13 in the Council of Ministers, Emmanuel Macron had wished "that the national holiday be an additional occasion to express the homage and recognition of the nation to all those who are engaged in the fight against Covid-19", according to government spokesperson Sibeth Ndiaye.
A request that had already made elected LREM and LR in April when they had advocated for the presence of a "square of carers" but also representatives of "everyday heroes" during the annual military parade.
Damien Adam, LREM deputy for Seine-Maritime and Catherine Dumas, senator LR from Paris had sent a letter to Emmanuel Macron, asking him, "if health conditions allow it" that healthcare workers and all be associated with the next national holiday our everyday heroes (traders, transport drivers, garbage collectors, teachers).