President Trump attended the Bastille Day parade Friday in Paris, where U.S. and French troops marched together to mark the 100th anniversary of America’s entry into World War I.
Mr. Trump and first lady Melania Trump joined French President Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte in bright sunshine on the reviewing platform to watch the parade of troops and horses down the famed Champs-Élysées.
The president said in a statement that it was a “high honor” for him to attend the celebrate with the French and renew the resolve to fight terrorism one year after a horrific terrorist attack in Nice, France.
“Our two countries stand taller — and more united — than ever,” Mr. Trump said. “From Africa to the Middle East to Central Asia, we are fighting to destroy the terrorist organizations that threaten all civilized peoples and that continue to exact a terrible toll on the French people, including one year ago today. Together, we will eliminate their safe havens, end their financing, and eradicate their ideology. America and France will never be defeated or divided.”
Mr. Macron said the U.S. is one of France’s oldest and most important allies.
“That is why nothing will separate us, never,” Mr. Macron said. “The presence today of the U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife is the sign of a friendship that lasts through time.”
After the parade, the Trumps boarded Air Force One for the return flight to the U.S. They will spend the weekend at Mr. Trump’s golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Bastille Day is one of France’s most important holidays, marking the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789, an event that gave momentum to the French Revolution.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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