Hollande attends last Bastille parade in current French presidential term

President Francois Hollande on Thursday attended his final Bastille Day parade during his current tenure as Head of State.

The military parade marks France’s national holiday which commemorates the French Revolution in 1789 that overthrew the monarchy and gave birth to the modern Republic.

Hollande, who will be eligible to run for a second presidential term in the 2017 general elections, left the Elysee Palace at 10:00 (8:00 GMT) in a convertible military jeep before joining French and international government officials in the grandstand.

United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, along with Australian GovernorGeneral, Peter Cosgrove and Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key were also present in the crowd.

The parade, which is celebrated annually on July 14, took place along the Champs Elysee avenue in Paris and featured 3,239 French soldiers, 236 horses, 36 dogs, 55 military planes and 30 helicopters.

The Australian military also took part with 140 soldiers, as well as a New Zealand contingent comprising 85 soldiers, including a group of Maori fighters in traditional clothing.

The parade started with a military flyover headed by eight Alphajet fighters in the formation of the Eiffel Tower, in support of Paris’ bid for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Also displayed was the US aerial refueling aircraft, the Boeing KC13J Stratotanker.

A captain of Spain’s Civil Guard was also present.

Several overseas military operations were represented by the parade, specifically Operation Barkhane against Islamic insurgents in the Sahel region of Africa, as well as Operation Chammal against the Islamic State in Iraq in Syria.

Hollande said on Wednesday that he plans to reinforce the French military presence in Iraq by sending military advisers to aid the Iraqi Army in their attempts to recapture IS held Mosul.

The French Head of State has indicated that he plans to end military presence in the Central African Republic, where, working in conjunction with United Nations peacekeepers, they made efforts to stabilize the country’s conflict.

What is scheduled to happen with Operation Sentinelle, in which up to 10,000 soldiers were mobilized after the Paris terrorist attacks last November, was unconfirmed.