On Sunday, fighter jets roared over Paris as the annual Bastille Day celebrations coincided with the arrival of the Olympic flame here 12 days before the start of the Games.
This year’s parade looked different and was noticeably less militaristic than in previous years. Athletes and Olympic volunteers were invited to participate alongside soldiers, medics and police officers.
The Place de la Concorde, where the Bastille Day procession traditionally ends, has been closed in recent weeks for the construction of temporary Olympic stadiums. As a result, the parade had to be moved to the Avenue Foch, one of the shorter and less well-known roads that surround the Arc de Triomphe.
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