France is marking the day with parades, fireworks, and festivities nationwide
France is marking its biggest national holiday, Bastille Day, with a spectacular display of military might and national pride, featuring swooping warplanes, axe-carrying warriors, and a drone light show over the Eiffel Tower.
Celebrations are planned across the country, culminating in fireworks in nearly every French town.
The heart of the festivities lies in Paris, where 7,000 participants are marching, on horseback or riding armoured vehicles, along the cobblestones of the Champs-Élysées.
The annual event commemorates the storming of the Bastille fortress and prison on 14 July 1789, a pivotal moment that ignited the French Revolution and led to the overthrow of the monarchy.
Over the subsequent two centuries, France witnessed the rise and fall of Napoleon's empire, further uprisings, and two world wars, before the establishment of today's Fifth Republic in 1958.
Bastille Day has since evolved into a central moment for modern France, embodying a blend of revolutionary spirit and military prowess, celebrating democratic freedoms and national pride.
The grandeur of the Paris parade notably impressed visiting US President Donald Trump in 2017, inspiring him to stage his own parade in the United States.
What to watch for
The spectacle begins on the ground, with French President Emmanuel Macron reviewing the troops and relighting the eternal flame beneath the Arc de Triomphe.
Each parade uniform has a touch of symbolism. The contingent from the French Foreign Legion is eye-catching, its bearded troops wearing leather aprons and carrying axes, a reference to their original role as route clearers for advancing armies.
The Paris event includes flyovers by fighter jets, trailing red, white and blue smoke.
Then the evening sees a drone light show and fireworks at the Eiffel Tower that has gotten more elaborate every year.
What's special about this year?
Every year, France hosts a special guest for Bastille Day, and this year it is Indonesia, with President Prabowo Subianto representing the world's biggest Muslim country, which also a major Asian economic and military player.
Indonesian troops, including 200 drummers, are marching in Monday's parade, and Indonesia is expected to confirm new purchases of Rafale fighter jets and other French military equipment during the visit.
Mr Prabowo, who was accused of rights abuses under Indonesia's prior dictatorship, will be treated to a special holiday dinner at the Elysée Palace.
Finnish troops serving in the UN force in Lebanon and Belgian and Luxembourg troops serving in a NATO force in Romania will also parade through Paris, reflecting the increasingly international nature of the event.
Among the dignitaries invited to watch will be Fousseynou Samba Cisse, who rescued two babies from a burning apartment earlier this month and received a last-minute invitation in a phone call from Mr Macron himself.
What's the geopolitical backdrop?
Beyond the military spectacle in Paris are growing concerns about an uncertain world.
On the eve of Bastille Day, Mr Macron announced €6.5 billion ($7.6 billion) in extra French military spending in the next two years because of new threats ranging from Russia to terrorism and online attacks. The French leader called for intensified efforts to protect Europe and support for Ukraine.
''Since 1945, our freedom has never been so threatened, and never so seriously,″ Mr Macron said. ''We are experiencing a return to the fact of a nuclear threat, and a proliferation of major conflicts.″
What else happens on Bastille Day?
It's a period when France bestows special awards - including the most prestigious, the Legion of Honor - on notable people. This year's recipients include Gisele Pelicot, who became a global hero to victims of sexual violence during a four-month trial in which her husband and dozens of men were convicted of sexually assaulting her while she was drugged unconscious.
Bastille Day is also a time for family gatherings, firefighters' balls and rural festivals around France.
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