President Christodoulides’ attendance at tomorrow’s grand military parade in Paris, for Bastille Day, is a small token of appreciation for the immediate assistance France provided to Cyprus last March, when it took the lead in establishing the European protective umbrella following the attack on Akrotiri.
The President of the Republic will be accompanied by the Chief of the National Guard General Staff and an honor guard of 20 elite officers and non-commissioned officers from all branches and units of the National Guard. This is the first time since 2008 that the National Guard has participated in France’s national holiday, and it is the largest delegation to date.
This year’s events are taking place in the wake of the signing of the Cyprus-France Enhanced Strategic Cooperation Agreement, which gave France an advantage in the Cypriot defense procurement package through SAFE, as it is estimated that Cyprus will spend 68% of the 1.2 billion it receives from the program on purchases from the French defense industry and co-production projects.
This is the context for France’s interest in upgrading the Evangelos Florakis naval base, in exchange for the right to dock French Navy ships. As well as the purchase of a second batch of Airbus H145M attack helicopters, Acheron anti-tank missiles, heavily armed armored personnel carriers, and communications systems.
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Watch the report by Christoforos Nestoros:
