Tensions Between Sarkozy and Army Mar Bastille Day

It is the height of French military pomp and grandeur - the parade of thousands of troops down the Champs Elys?es to salute the president on Bastille day. But today's celebrations have been marred by tensions between Nicolas Sarkozy and the military, which has seen morale plummet in the worst relations between a French president and his armed forces since the war in Algeria over 40 years ago.

"Their heart isn't in it," various newspapers reported before the parade, with the leftwing daily Lib?ration calling it a "demonstration without banners". Sarkozy, who was once called France's "top cop" when he was minister of the interior, is known to have an excellent rapport with the police. But he has fallen out with the army, despite the increase in French troops to Afghanistan and France's presence on the international peacekeeping stage. Alongside Britain, France is the biggest military power in Europe.Last night, Sarkozy made a last-minute speech to defence forces, intended to calm the atmosphere and assure soldiers of "all my esteem and friendship". But one officer told Le Parisien newspaper that morale was at its lowest ever "at four on a scale of one to ten, where seven would be worrying".

The tensions stem in part from Sarkozy's plan to radically overhaul the army and cut 54,000 defence personnel over the next six to seven years. A list of the garrisons to be closed should have been unveiled earlier this month, but as tensions and protests grew, it was postponed. The announcement will now be made later this month. "The more we delay, more the malaise grows," the defence minister, Herv? Morin, has said. So great was the concern that the army was being squeezed due to other French budget concerns that several major figures published an anonymous newspaper column decrying the downgrading of the military and the "amateurism" of the government's plans. Sarkozy reportedly called on the intelligence services to root out those responsible, prompting the army's most senior command to warn against a "witch hunt".

In recent weeks an incident at an army open day at a barracks in Carcassonne inflamed tensions after a soldier fired real bullets instead of blanks, injuring 17 people in the crowd. Sarkozy told the army: "You're amateurs, not professionals", and the chief-of-staff had to resign.

The army's current chief-of-staff, General Jean-Louis Georgelin, has moved to calm the atmosphere, telling French radio that the "misunderstanding" between the army and the president - over his accusations of amateurism in Carcassonne - was "behind us".

This morning, as UN blue berets also joined the parade, some French veterans raised concerns about soldiers having to salute the Syrian president, Bashar Assad, a controversial guest at the event. Syria has been suspected of involvement in a 1983 truck bomb attack on French military headquarters in Lebanon, known as the Drakkar, which killed 58 French troops who were part of an international peacekeeping force. French officials downplayed the controversy, blaming Iran and Hezbollah for the attack.