F22 and F16 Thunderbirds of US Air Force fly over Paris during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris on Friday. The parade on Champs-Elysees commemorated the centenary of the US entering WWI and was joined by horses, helicopters, planes and troops. Eight US planes joined the parade, along with a detachment of 145 troops on the ground. US President Donald Trump was the guest of honor at the parade, and French and American flags were prominent throughout. Photo: CFP

French President Emmanuel Macron and his US counterpart Donald Trump marked France's national day together on Friday at a military parade which clearly delighted the US president and ­showcased the warming ­relations between the two leaders. 

Macron invited Trump to be his guest of honor at the Bastille Day celebration, which featured French and US troops marching down the fabled Champs-Elysees in Paris.

Trump, 71, was frequently on his feet and applauding, while he and Macron again looked at ease in each other's company, leaning in to chat and touching each other on the shoulder.

"Nothing will ever separate us," Macron said during a speech at the end of the parade, adding that Trump's presence was "the sign of a friendship across the ages" between their countries.

The celebrations were also tinged with mourning, one year on since a jihadist massacre in the Mediterranean city of Nice where a man drove a truck into a crowd, killing 86 people.

Macron, 39, rolled out the red carpet for Trump's two-day visit, hoping to improve relations and persuade the US president to change his mind about withdrawing from the global Paris agreement on climate change.

Trump said cryptically after their talks on Thursday that "something could happen with respect to the Paris accord ... but we will talk about that over the coming period of time."

Trump had appeared ­isolated at a meeting of world leaders last weekend in Germany over his decision to withdraw the US from the Paris global climate change agreement and his protectionist stance on trade.

The warm body language between him and Macron seemed at odds with broader concerns about the transatlantic relationship since Trump's election victory in November last year.

The two men enjoyed a "dinner between friends" on Thursday at a Michelin-starred restaurant on the Eiffel Tower, joined by their wives.

Trump also said Thursday that the bond between the US and France, as well as the friendship between him and Macron, was "unbreakable."

Despite their differences on climate change and trade, the two leaders focused on their close cooperation on fighting the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq during their talks.

Bastille Day commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789 - the start of the French Revolution and a ­turning point in world history.

This year's celebrations are tinged by memories of last year's bloodbath in Nice, when a Tunisian man drove a truck into crowds of families ­following a fireworks display.

In less than three minutes, 86 people including 15 children were crushed to death and another 450 were injured. Of the dead, 37 were foreigners of 19 different nationalities.