The Elysée Palace in Paris, home to the French presidency, said Sunday it will bring back a public changing of the guard ceremony, 27 years after it was last held. In a statement, the presidential office said the formal ceremony will be visible to the public on every first Tuesday of the month, starting on November 7, at 9 am).
Two sections of the French Republican Guard of 16 soldiers will march along nearby Avenue de Marigny and Rue de l'Elysée and meet outside the Elysée gates on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. There the section leaders will salute each other and exchange orders before entering the palace for their 24-hour duty, the statement said.
The public changing of the guard outside the Elysée was first held in 1909 every day at 7:45 am, but discontinued in 1996. The Republican Guard, a military unit of 3,400 soldiers, is charged with the protection of official buildings in France and wide-ranging protocol duties.