Sarkozy calls for high-tech military spending

PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy opened the traditional Bastille Day military parade to Indian and German troops Tuesday, as France looks to expand its global military influence and strengthen strategic partnerships.

French forces marched with precision down the Champs Elysees along with Indian troops in colorful uniforms and German soldiers in sober dress.

Attack jets in tight formation roared across blue skies overhead to the delight of thousands of cheering onlookers.

The mood in the city was unaffected by violent clashes overnight in the eastern Paris suburb of Montreuil. Police used tear gas and clubs to disperse several hundred supporters of a group of squatters evicted from the building last week.

The annual holiday parade marks the July 14, 1789, storming of the Bastille prison in eastern Paris that helped spark the French Revolution.

French companies have been seeking new markets for their military and nuclear technology, and Sarkozy pledged Tuesday that despite the economic crisis he would not seek to cut French military spending on high-tech weapons or intelligence gathering.

The French military is in the midst of restructuring that has forced the closing of some military bases in France and Africa as the country expands in the Persian Gulf. France hopes its presence there will bolster international efforts to fight piracy and guard shipping lanes while giving France more leverage with Iran and the Gulf states.

Sarkozy paid tribute to the effort of "modernization without precedent," and said he would put "an absolute priority on everything concerning intelligence" while emphasizing spending on military technology, especially that which could be used in the civilian sector.

Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, greeted children who were treated in France for wounds received in wars and conflicts overseas, and also paid tribute to French troops serving with other NATO troops in Afghanistan.

"I told President Obama that we would help because this country (Afghanistan) must regain the conditions of its freedom. We are not going to let the Taliban cut off the hands of little girls because they put on nail polish," Sarkozy said.

The German troops marching in Tuesday's parade, under the review of German President Horst Koehler, were part of a joint brigade deployed in the eastern French city of Strasbourg.