France's Bastille Day parade returns with thousands of troops marching on ...

France celebrated Bastille Day on Wednesday with thousands of troops marching in a Paris parade, warplanes roaring overhead and traditional parties around the country, after last year's events were scaled back because of virus fears. 

The traditional parade returned to the Champs-Elysees after a one-year hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic - and one soldier even used the occasion to propose to his girlfriend on the cobblestoned avenue, kneeling and kissing her hand. 

Two horses stumbled while parading on the Champs-Elysees, tossing their uniformed riders, but overall the day's main event went according to plan, and looked a lot like Bastille Days of the past. 

Virus fears are still lurking, but France's government decided to go ahead with the parade anyway, as part of a broader effort to return to pre-pandemic activity.

The parade under grey skies and light rain was a scaled-down version of the usual event, with only 10,000 people in the stands instead of 25,000.     

The holiday commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris on July 14, 1789, which marked the birth of the French Revolution.   

Spectators were restricted to a small section of the parade. In addition, each person attending had to show a special pass proving they had been fully vaccinated, had recently recovered from the virus or a had negative virus test. Similar restrictions will be in place for those gathering to watch an elaborate fireworks show at the Eiffel Tower on Wednesday evening.

Spectators converged on Paris from around France, glad to be able to see the show in person even if frustrated with the restrictions and long lines for virus security checks.

'I came especially for my son who is marching today,' said Gaelle Henry from Normandy. 'It's nice to be able to get out a little bit and finally get some fresh air and think that all the people are here, and that we are getting back to normal a little bit.'

Masks were ubiquitous among the smaller-than-usual crowds along the avenue, and de rigueur for the dignitaries watching the parade under a red-white-and-blue awning emulating the French flag. The marching soldiers were unmasked - the French military said they have all been fully vaccinated or freshly tested for the virus.

European special forces involved in anti-jihadist operations in Africa's Sahel region were given prime position in the parade, in a sign of President Emmanuel Macron's military priorities. 

Roughly 80 French and European special forces drawn from the multinational Takuba force in the Sahel led the procession on foot, a choice intended to send a diplomatic message from Paris.

Macron, who presided over the ceremony, announced a major drawdown of French troops in the Sahel region last month and is banking on his often reluctant European partners to send more troops to replace them.

Paris wants Takuba - which numbers only 600 troops currently, half of them French - to take over more responsibilities from the 5,100 soldiers in France's Barkhane operation, who have been battling Islamist groups in the Sahel for eight years.