Patrouille de France

On this day in 1860, the French flag replaced the duchy of Savoy flag for the first time in Nice. Today that event was celebrated with parachutists and a performance by thePatrouille de France, one of the world’s oldest aerobatic demonstration teams, formed in 1931. I grew up watching air shows at our local airport, and once saw theBlue Angelsperform, so I was very much looking forward to today’s festivities. My expectations were far exceeded — the Patrouille de France, led byVirginie Guyot, the first woman ever (in the world) to lead an aerobatic demonstration team, was breathtaking, especially over the background of a particularly beautiful Mediterranean.

Despite there beingquite the crowd, I was able to find aspot near the beachand Place Albert 1er, which was where the performances were set to take place. First, agroup of 35 parachutistsdropped into a formation supposed to be “150″, though we spectators had a hard time making it out in the blazing sun. T

By fraise

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Filed under: Life in Provence

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