African troops march in Paris Bastille Day parade

Another traditional Bastille Day event, the garden party at the presidential palace, has been canceled as part of cost-cutting measures in cash-strapped France.
France invited former African colonies celebrating five decades of independence to take part in the parade.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has defended himself from critics who asked if the invitation stemmed from nostalgia for the colonial era.
In Wednesday's parade, Sarkozy waved to the crowd from an open-top military vehicle. Planes flew over the capital trailing red, white and blue smoke.