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France scraps Bastille Day military parade over coronavirus

France scraps Bastille Day military parade over coronavirus

France will celebrate the upcoming Bastille Day with the traditional ceremony, EU Politico says. However, over coronavirus, the government announced the smaller military parade on July 14 instead.

France, one of the most-infected nations in the EU, recovers from coronavirus epidemic, is ready to celebrate the Bastille Day. On July 14, the nation will not hold its traditional military parade because of the novel pathogen outbreak.

According to the plans, the members of France’s military will not march down the Champs-Elysée this summer, as they usually do on Bastille Day, in order to ensure social distancing guidelines are respected.

Instead, 2,000 participants and 2,500 guests will take part in a ceremony held at Place de la Concorde, where the traditional parade usually ends.

“The ceremony will include an aerial parade and will honor the participation of our armies in the fight against COVID-19,” presidency said in reference to troops setting up field hospitals and other efforts to manage the COVID-19 outbreak.

On July 14, the ceremony will also pay homage to healthcare workers that took part in the fight against coronavirus.

Over three months, more than 29,000 people have died from the novel virus in France. The nation is gradually relaxing the restrictions and life is slowly getting back to normal with the new health protocol. It includes social distancing and the face masks, these rules are still in place.