For the first time, students from military academies on the African continent were invited to take part in France's 14 July Bastille Day parade. RFI met them on the eve of the big day, as they were putting the final touches to their steps and calming their nerves.
Cadets from Senegal, Madagascar, Benin and Gabon were going through their paces on Thursday at the Versailles-Satory military camp, west of Paris.
There was no public, no Arc de Triomphe, just a concrete track and a sound system beating out a military rhythm.
"Come on, now, let's make an effort, raise our heads and line up," an officer told the cadets dressed in blue uniforms and black leather boots.
Gabriel, from Gabon, has trained a few times on the Champs-Elysees with his military academy, but this is his first Bastille Day parade.
He said it was an honour.
“July 14th is a big day, so I feel proud to come and parade here and represent my country. We've already started training on the Champs-Élysées and I've been feeling really strong. It's really impressive, beautiful. That's all the more reason to do both France and Gabon proud.”
He knew his parents and much of the family would be glued to the screen back home.
"It's a great source of pride for them that we're here, that we're marching in a parade on such a big day, for such a big event. So of course they're going to be watching,” he told RFI's Baptiste Coulon.
“They're always telling me how proud they are of me, and the person I've become. So that keeps me going, keeps me motivated.”
Flag-bearer
Kylian, also from Gabon, has just passed his baccalauréat (high school diploma) at the Lycée Militaire in the capital Libreville.
Marching in Paris on 14 July will also be a source of pride for his family.
"My uncles, my grandparents... will all be tuned in to French TV so they can see me in the parade,” he said.
They'll even try and capture a few images of the event "as souvenirs".
Lycéen gabonais 🇬🇦 du Prytanée militaire de Libreville, Kylian défilera ce #14Juillet. À la rentrée prochaine, il intègrera la classe préparatoire du Prytanée national militaire de la Flèche en France 🇫🇷. Un bel exemple de coopération avec nos partenaires africains. ⤵ pic.twitter.com/3MsupiUC12
— Ministère des Armées 🇫🇷 (@Armees_Gouv) July 12, 2023
Kylian has the additional privilege, and pressure, of being the flag-bearer.
“The cameras are a bit more focused on you when you're carrying the flag,” he noted. “It's a privilege to carry my nation's colours so high.”
The job of calming some last-minute nerves fell to lieutenant-colonel André Dokoui Fofo, who runs the military academy in Bembéréké, Benin.
"We still need to show a bit more pride in our marching, a bit more rigour in our steps," he said.
But he remained confident in his troops.
"I think we're going to put on a great show. There's no doubt about it, we're going to impress. They're ready!”
