Budget Boost For French Military On Bastille Day

Stock Image: President Emmanuel Macron with President Donald Trump (Credit: PA)

The French military is getting a budget boost from President Emmanuel Macron as soldiers march through Paris on Bastille Day.

Fighter jets will perform acrobatics over Paris and troops have paraded down the Champs-Elysees.

Mr Macron is presiding over the event, where Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is the guest of honour.

President Macron signed a new military budget on the eve of Saturday's parade, aimed at lifting defence spending to 2% of gross domestic product as promised to Nato.

The rise had long been planned, but came after a contentious Nato summit in which President Donald Trump criticised allies for not spending enough on defence.

About 110,000 security forces are being deployed across France to protect Bastille Day celebrations, after a 2016 attack in Nice killed 86 people.