Jetfighters streaked above the famed Champs-Elysee Avenue on Friday, along with AWACS surveillance and a bevy of helicopters.
On the ground, soldiers in dress garb marched in formation, Leclerc tanks rumbled and horses strutted from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde, under the eye of France’s top civilian and military authorities.
The red trucks of the Paris firefighters also took part, drawing a huge applause from the crowd.
The army “has not lost its link with the nation,” Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said later. “In these difficult times, it is an indispensable element of vigilance.”
Security was tight with Metro stations in the area closed off and police stationed along the avenue and on side streets.