France, July 14 -- A huge French tricolour flag, hanging below the monumental Napoleon-era Arc du Triomphe at the top of the Champs-Elysees, rippled in the wind as a military band on horseback rode down the tree-lined avenue - followed by President Emmanuel Macron standing in an open military vehicle to kick off the parade.

Spectators wore hats and brandished small fans to fend off the heat, as a formation of air force planes roared overhead trailing red, white and blue smoke.

France marks 14 July as its national holiday in memory of the day Parisians stormed the Bastille prison in 1789, helping spark the French Revolution, which overthrew the monarchy and sent King Louis XVI and his queen Marie-Antoinette to the guillotine.

Today's mi...