France, Ukraine announce deal for Rafale jets, missile production
French President Emmanuel Macron hosted a Bastille Day military parade on Tuesday that featured 500 soldiers from the “coalition of the willing” and dozens of European leaders, using the event to display European military unity and to announce a technology transfer agreement with Ukraine.
The parade, Macron’s last as president before leaving office, marked a culmination of his nearly decade-long push for European “strategic autonomy” — the ability to shoulder more of the continent’s defense burden rather than relying on the U.S. security umbrella. The event comes after the Trump administration rolled back military aid to Ukraine and threatened to withdraw from NATO, moves that have galvanized European resolve to back Kyiv.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, attended the parade alongside U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and roughly 30 other heads of state or government. Zelensky said the invitation to Ukrainian forces was “a sign of respect and recognition of the strength of Ukraine, our people, and our armed forces.”
Tanks, jeeps and amphibious vehicles rolled down the Champs-Élysées from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde. France’s Rafale and Mirage fighter jets flew overhead, joined by aircraft from European allies — including U.S.-made F-35s and F-16s in the arsenals of European nations.
A previous Bastille Day parade so impressed Trump during his first term that he ordered the Pentagon to stage a similar military parade in Washington.
Later Tuesday, Macron and Zelensky announced an agreement that will give Ukraine access to a suite of advanced French military technology, including Rafale fighter jets. The deal also allows Ukraine to produce on its soil a range of armaments, including Aster 30 antiaircraft missiles, jointly produced by France and Italy.
“In just a few years, we will have built new capabilities in Europe and orchestrated a strategic awakening,” Macron said Monday in a speech to the military. “Europe is becoming a power.”
Despite the show of unity, Europe’s push for military independence from the United States continues to face obstacles. European governments are divided over how to supply troops with equipment, where to deploy forces and how deeply to rely on other countries — including the U.S. and China — for weapons and components.
A joint Franco-German plan to build a stealth fighter was abandoned last month after Germany withdrew, catching French officials by surprise — an example of the disputes that have dogged European defense cooperation. France’s Dassault had sought to lead the partnership, upsetting companies such as Airbus with a major presence in Germany.
The Trump administration’s cuts to military aid to Ukraine have nonetheless galvanized Europe’s resolve. The result has been billions of dollars of additional funding for European arms companies. On Monday evening, 10 members of the coalition of the willing announced the creation of an antiballistic missile coalition to develop systems against the threat.
At the close of the parade, the leaders posed for a group photo on the Place de la Concorde, with Macron, his wife Brigitte and Zelensky in the center, the Arc de Triomphe behind them.