France nixes Bastille Day parade for ceremony

French troops won't march on the Champs-Elysees avenue on Bastille Day this year. The French presidency says the traditional military parade will be replaced with a Paris ceremony where health precautions will be observed due to the coronavirus pandemic. French President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants Bastille Day to honor both the military and health care workers who have been on the front line of France's COVID-19 outbreak.

The French presidency says the July 14 ceremony will take place on the Place de la Concorde square and thousands of participants and guests will be requested to keep physical distance from each other. It will include the traditional fly-over by the French air force.

The presidency says authorities don't plan to open the celebration to the general public at the moment but will reassess the situation later. France has had a Bastille Day parade since 1880.

French health authorities have reported at least 29,000 virus-related deaths in hospitals and nursing homes since France's first cases emerged.

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