Bastille Day is back, sort of. France celebrated its national holiday with thousands of troops marching in a Paris parade, warplanes roaring overhead and traditional parties around the country, after last year’s events were scaled back because of virus fears.

This year, those fears are still lurking, but the government decided to go ahead with the parade on the Champs Elysees anyway, as part of a broader effort to return to pre-pandemic activity.

The number of onlookers was limited, and they were restricted to a small section of the parade. In addition, each person attending had to show a special pass proving they have been fully vaccinated, had recently recovered from the virus or had a negative virus test.

Read the full AP story here.