French special forces hailed on Bastille Day

French gendarmerie and police motorcyclists ride in formation down the Champs Elysee during the traditional Bastille Day military parade in Paris yesterday.

AgenciesParisFrance yesterday paid tribute to the elite armed units which intervened to end sieges after January’s deadly attacks by Islamist militants, showcasing the secretive forces for the first time in its annual Bastille Day parade. Forces including the Raid assault unit marched down the Champs-Elysees avenue, some wearing sunglasses and helmets to hide their identity. Broadcast media were told not to zoom in on the faces of other special forces members. “This march is more than ever the glue that holds the nation together,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls said. France is on top security alert after a suspected Islamist beheaded his boss and tried to blow up an industrial gas plant in the suburbs of the southeast city of Lyon last month. Twenty people, including three of the attackers, were killed in January when gunmen targeted the headquarters of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and another shot a police officer and took hostages at a kosher supermarket near Paris. Yesterday procession showcased French military equipment, from regular infantry vehicles to Dassault’s multi-role fighter Rafale and Airbus’ military troops transporter A400M.President Francois Hollande yesterday pledged to maintain the levels of security personnel on the streets of France that were increased in the face of terrorist threats.“We have mobilised and I do not want the French to have the slightest doubt on the action plan put in place,” following the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January, he said.“Ten thousand soldiers will now be on the ground,” Hollande said in his annual National Day television interview.This was in addition to 20,000 police officers, and the numbers would not be “relaxed” but “maintained for the coming months,” he said in the interview with broadcaster TF1.Hollands stressed that the French people faced “groups who want to call into question ... all civilizations,” but “the first victims are Muslims,” he said.He said he also looked forward to the international climate change conference scheduled to take place in Paris in December to strike a deal on curbing global carbon emissions, describing it as the most “considerable challenge” of his five-year term.“Those who want to bring their support are welcome,” he said.Hollande said that he had been “bold” in insisting on the “pact of responsibility” and opening a “new social dialogue” in the hard-fought bailout negotiations with Greece. He also welcomed the Iranian nuclear deal.In his interview he touched on his plans to revive the ailing French economy and on the domestic political situation, but he refused to be drawn on whether he would stand for re-election in 2017.The French president is traditionally interviewed by the main national broadcaster TF1 on July 14, France’s National Day, which is also known as Bastille Day as it commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison at the start of the French Revolution in 1789.