France marks Bastille Day in aftermath of train crash

Bastille Day is being marked with the traditional military parade in Paris while France mourns those who died in Friday's rail disaster, BBC reported.

Nearly 5,000 military personnel are taking part on the Champs Elysees along with President Francois Hollande.

Mr Hollande is expected to face questions about the rail accident in a TV interview soon after the parade.

Six people were killed in the crash near Paris, which has raised questions about the state of the rail system.

Fighter jets trailing red, white and blue smoke - the colours of the French flag - streaked over the Arc de Triomphe as the annual Bastille Day celebrations began.

Fifty-eight planes, 35 helicopters and 265 military vehicles are taking part. Mr Hollande was driven in an open-top jeep down the Champs Elysees as troops saluted.

The parade was led by troops from Mali, along with French troops who took part in the country's intervention there to repel an Islamist insurgency.

The 14 July celebrations mark the start of the French Revolution in 1789 when the Bastille prison was stormed.

In a set-piece interview on the main national TV networks, the president is thought likely to try to reassure the French people about the state of the rail network after indications a fault on the track was to blame for the accident.