The blue, red & gold kepis on these soldiers look to me like the last remaining Tirailleur regiment of the French Army, all of whose members are the now-French descendants of the original Tirailleurs, the North African infantry troops in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Judging by the sailboat perched on the canopy, though, the little soldier in the Volo is going to be in the navy.
[Wikipedia, is there anything you can tell me that doesn't make me sound like I know what I'm talking about?]
[via toog's flickr stream, aka Gilles, a Parisian poet whose blog is also toog.]
Wow, that's a bit random! Never know what you're going to talk about next. Nonetheless, as [yet another] representative of your readership of ex-Parisian dads with French military history degrees who drive Maclarens, I appreciate the shout-out.
[I like to add at least a little info when I totally republish someone else's flickr photo. -ed.]
When we were in Paris last summer the Maclaren pousette with a Lascal Buggy Board seemed to be de rigueur...much more than the Bugaboo.