Haka on the Champs-Elysees Honors Pacific Battalion Volunteers

Paris – 20.07.2026: A haka performed by soldiers with Pacific roots added a special note to the military parade on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on July 14. Members of the 9th Marine Infantry Brigade linked the performance to remembrance of the volunteers of the Pacific Battalion, whose return to Noumea and Tahiti marks its 80th anniversary in 2026. At the same time, they honored General Francois-Regis Jaminet at the end of his posting.

The performance took place on the French National Day against the backdrop of the official parade in the capital. The 9th Marine Infantry Brigade maintains close ties with the French overseas territories and with the Pacific traditions of its service personnel. The haka was therefore presented not as a sporting performance, but as a solemn, collective gesture of remembrance and respect.

At the center was the Pacific Battalion, a unit of the Free French Forces during the Second World War. Volunteers from New Caledonia, French Polynesia and the then New Hebrides, now Vanuatu, joined the fight against the German and Italian Axis powers. According to the Army, the unit fought in North Africa, Italy and France.

The volunteers’ return to their home territories in 1946 provides the historical reference for this year’s commemorative events. In New Caledonia, the 80th anniversary was already marked in May with ceremonies and educational projects. The armed forces in New Caledonia also placed the unit’s legacy at the center of a remembrance tour by XV du Pacifique, a military rugby team from the region.

The moment on the grand Paris avenue thus brought attention to a history that is often less visible in national remembrance than the operations of French units in Europe. The Pacific Battalion brought together men from distant French and associated territories who responded to Charles de Gaulle’s call and left their homelands for military service.

The tribute to General Francois-Regis Jaminet also gave the scene a contemporary military significance. According to reports from July 14, the haka marked his departure from the command. Further details about his next posting were not provided in the publications consulted. The gesture thus combined personal recognition, comradeship and historical remembrance.

National Day 2026 as a whole highlighted the strategic role and operational readiness of the French armed forces. Alongside the formations on the ground, numerous air force units also took part in the parade. Within this military setting, the haka of the Pacific soldiers made visible the bond between France and its Pacific territories and recalled the contribution of their volunteers to the liberation of France.