École Polytechnique at the Bastille Day parade, looking to the future and high-tech

Two hundred and forty-six students from École Polytechnique took part in the July 14th military parade in their Grand Uniforme. They marched after the Takuba Task Force, the core of the European cooperation forces in the Sahel, which opened the parade of foot troops.

The military parade was organized this year around the theme "Winning the Future" to demonstrate the willingness to overcome the difficulties associated with the Covid-19 pandemic and move forward, said the French Ministry of Defence. It also illustrates the ability to anticipate of the Armed Forces, which, thanks to high technology, are able to prevent crises and imagine the battles of the future, the ministry said.

The École Polytechnique, a scientific institution of excellence, militarized in 1804 by Napoleon, trains top-level executives, engineers and scientists in a multidisciplinary approach to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

Its human and military training is compulsory for all first year students of the Ingénieur Polytechnicien Program, for a period of six months, in the army and the Gendarmerie, or in a uniformed institution (National Police, Customs…) or in a civilian organization.

This specific training, unparalleled in other engineering schools, places each student in a position of responsibility, aims to develop a sense of service and common good, and to foster open-mindedness.

On July 14th, 240 of the 551 students in the X2020 class marched with the flag guard, composed of six students, under the command of Colonel Bertrand Leduc, Corps Chief and Director of Human and military training at l’X, followed by Lieutenant-Colonel Tristan Jacobé de Naurois, commander of the X2020 class, and accompanied by 12 supervisors.

Colonel Leduc, Corps Chief and Director of Human Training at l’X since 2017 led the troops for the last time. Colonel Thibault Capdeville took over from him on July 12th.

This year, the Grand Uniforme of the female students has evolved. They now wear pants and boots, like their male counterparts.