A man riding a 'flyboard' that can reach speeds of up to 190km/h stunned crowds at a French national parade on Sunday. 

Former jetskiing champion Franky Zapata flew his newly-invented flyboard, which he developed with the help of the French military, during France's Bastille Day parade. 

Video that has now gone viral captures Mr Zapata grasping a rifle as he flies over the crowd, in a sign of the possible military uses of his device.

Mr Zapata created the board with the intention of using it to fly over water. It can run for a maximum of 10 minutes and can reach a speed of up to 190km/h.

He plans on crossing the English Channel on his device, once he works out how to refuel mid-flight. He hopes to make the crossing on July 25, exactly 110 years after pioneering aviator Louis Bleriot made his first journey across the Channel in a monoplane.

French president Emmanuel Macron, flanked by German chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders, nodded in approval and applauded the 40-year-old Mr Zapata. He later stated in a tweet: “Proud of our army, modern and innovative”.

French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly told France Inter radio ahead of the parade that the flyboard "can allow tests for different kinds of uses, for example as a flying logistical platform or, indeed, as an assault platform."