Indonesian troops and guests of honor opened the traditional July 14 parade in Paris, which highlighted an army "ready to fight" against a "more brutal world," a day after Emmanuel Macron promised to further increase defense spending.

Preceded by the French Patrol and an air parade, more than 450 Indonesian soldiers, including musicians from a "drum corps," in colorful uniforms and with their heads covered with pilot helmets, tiger heads, eagles, walruses or sharks depending on the corps to which they belong, opened the parade in front of French President Emmanuel Macron and his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto, as well as the Emir of Kuwait, Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah.

Paris has signed a strategic partnership with Jakarta to increase its influence in the Indo-Pacific region, AFP reported.

Organized as a "real military operation" according to Paris' military governor, General Loïc Mizon, this year's parade reflects the seriousness of the threats to the continent's security.

"Never since 1945 has freedom been so threatened," French President Emmanuel Macron told an audience of senior military officials, referring in particular to the "persistent threat" that Russia poses to the continent.

A national strategic review published recently states that "it is now clear that we are entering a new era in which there is a particularly high risk of a major war of high intensity outside Europe."

"Such a war would affect France and its allies, particularly its European allies, by 2030, with our territory being the target of massive hybrid actions," the document states. | BGNES