(VOVworld) – France on Tuesday celebrated the 225th anniversary of the National Day with a military parade marching down the Champs-Elysees Avenue to the Concorde Square.
Troops march down the Champs-Elysees avenue during the traditional Bastille Day parade in Paris, Monday, July 14, 2014. (AP Photo/Thomas Samson, Pool)
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This year’s celebration coincided with the centenary of World War I from 1914 to 1918. The event attracted the participation of armed forces of nearly 80 countries which used to join the war and soldiers of the regiments involved in the Sangaris campaign in the Central African Republic. General Pierre de Villiers, French Army chief, said the presence proved that the warring countries have closed a heart-rending page of the history and opened a new page for peace.
France's President Francois Hollande, left, and French Army Chief of Staff, General Pierre de Villiers, during the traditional Bastille Day parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, Monday, July 14, 2014. (AP Photo/Gonzalo Fuentes/Pool) |
After the march, in his speech aimed to restore people’s trust, French President Francois Hollande clarified the country’s policies and their prospects, especially the ‘Responsibility Agreement’ – an overall package of solutions to create a growth impetus and resolve the unemployment until 2017. Hollande underlined the importance of the social consensus to bring France out of the current difficulty when the unemployment rate has reached a high record of more than 3.3 million people.