Although Enrique Peña Nieto’s state visit to France was eclipsed by the dramatic escape of Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman, Mexico’s president and First Lady – sitting alongside French President Francois Hollande – seemed to thoroughly enjoy the moment 156 Mexican soldiers marched down the Champs-Elysees at the front of the annual July 14 Bastille Day military parade.
Some carried birds of prey as they paraded ahead of France’s elite anti-terror squad and a group of French medics who fought the ebola epidemic. This was only the second time a detachment of solders from a Latin American nation had taken part in the parade.
French daily Le Monde ran an article criticizing the decision to invite the Mexican military to participate in the parade, given their poor human rights record.