France said Thursday it will not hold the Bastille Day military parade due to social distancing norms, replacing it with a ceremony to pay tribute to health workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic, reports FRANCE 24.
Rather than the traditional march of soldiers and display of military hardware down the Champs-Elysées on July 14th, this year will see a much smaller ceremony at the Place de la Concorde, where the parade normally ends, the presidency said.
The annual parade to mark the July 14th, 1789 storming of the Bastille fortress in Paris during the French Revolution, has been held on the Champs-Elysées since World War I.
It starts at the Arc de Triomphe, a monument to those who have fought for France, [then on] to the Place de la Concorde, where King Louix XVI was beheaded in 1793 in the revolution that overthrew France's monarchy.
This year, the square will host a military ceremony with some 2,000 participants and 2,500 guests, who will gather in strict respect of social distancing rules seeking to halt the spread of the virus that has killed more than 29,000 people in France to date.
It will include a highlight of the yearly show - the flypast - in honour of medical personnel and all others "mobilised against the virus," the Elysée presidential palace announced.
The event will likely not be open to the public, although this decision could be reevaluated if the health situation improves before then.
Every year, thousands of people, young and old, throng the Champs-Elysées to view the spectacle of military personnel, tanks and other weapons of war rolling down the avenue to army bands as French flags flutter everywhere.