France's Bastille Day parade meets Olympic torch relay in exceptional year

Paris is hosting an extra-special guest for France's national holiday Sunday the Olympic flame lighting up the city's grandiose military parade for Bastille Day.

Just 12 days before the French capital hosts exceptionally ambitious and high-security Summer Games, the torch relay is joining up with thousands of soldiers, sailors, rescuers and medics marching in Paris beneath roaring fighter jets to mark Bastille Day.

While people around France mark the day with concerts, parties and fireworks, here's a look at what the holiday's about, and what's different this year:

What does Bastille Day celebrate?On July 14, 1789, revolutionaries stormed the Bastille fortress and prison in Paris, heralding the start of the French Revolution and the end of the monarchy.

The holiday is central to the French calendar, with events across the country. It aims to embody the national motto of 'liberty, equality and fraternity,' though not everyone in France feels the country lives up to that promise.

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