The Acting Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, accompanied by the Secretary of State for Defense, Ángel Olivares, has headed the Spanish delegation that has attended in Paris the military parade celebrated on the occasion of the French National Holiday Day
This year they took part in the military stop of July 14, 128 Spanish soldiers belonging to the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, as well as seven of the Civil Guard. All of them belong to units that act together with Gallic forces both in the framework of international organizations and in peace operations.
Ministry of DefenceOn behalf of the Army have paraded the flag and a company of the Infantry Regiment 'Prince' No. 3, belonging to the'Galicia' VII Brigade, as well as two HA TIGER helicopters and two NH90 of the Army Air Forces Aeromobiles (FAMET), with a total of 124 soldiers.
On behalf of the Spanish Navy, five crew members of the F-105 frigate'Cristobal Colon' -who participated in the 'Fanal' exercise, organized by the French Navy at the beginning of 2019- and two midshipmen from the Marine Naval School of Marin , which maintains a student exchange program with the École Navale gala.
The Air Force has moved to the French capital, to take part in the air parade, a C16 `EUROFIGHTER' fighter belonging to Wing 14 and a KC130` HÉRCULES' aircraft belonging to Wing 31, with a total of 7 crew members.
On behalf of the Civil Guard, components of the Rural Action Unit have been paraded.
Close relationship in defense
There is a long and close link between the Armed Forces of Spain and France. The relationship of the Ministries of Defense of both countries is excellent and continuous in all areas of cooperation, both bilaterally and multilaterally in the main security and defense organizations, which includes joint participation in numerous international operations.
This relationship is especially relevant, at the moment, in the European Union, where Spain and France, together with Germany, exercise leadership of the main initiatives to strengthen the Europe of Defense.
The latter includes an industrial and technological component of which the recent signing, by the three countries, of an agreement for the joint development of a future European air combat system is a clear example.
Parade of July 14
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This parade has been organized over time in different places of Paris, but it was in 1980 when the Avenue of the Champs Elysees was institutionalized as the usual site for the development of it.
The motto chosen for this year's celebration is "Act together" and for that reason they have accompanied the French Armed Forces military units from nine other European countries: Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal and UK.