14 July - French national holiday

Bastille Day - the French national holiday, celebrated on 14 July each year.

The Bastille was a prison in Paris. As in 1789 people stormed and seized the Bastille - a symbol of royal despotism and freed seven prisoners. This event is considered the start of the French Revolution. Storming of the Bastille in Paris became an icon of the French Republic.

In the summer of 1789, all was not good in France. The political system, which concentrated power in the hands of a few corrupt aristocrats and the king, forced the working classes to bear the financial burden of the country's substantial national debt. A bad harvest the year before left the poor starving. No one was more outraged than the bourgeoisie — the new middle class which, while growing in number and in wealth, were denied the political power of the aristocracy.

Frustrated and impassioned, revolutionaries raided the armory at les Invalides on the morning of July 14. Armed and eager, they marched to the Bastille, a prison that had come to symbolize the hypocrisy and corruption of the regime. After a brief standoff, the citizens stormed the citadel and liberated all the prisoners. This event sparked the French Revolution. The revolutionaries were inspired by the ideals of the Enlightenment; "liberté, egalité and fraternité" became the rallying cry that spread throughout the country.The bravery of the French revolutionaries who risked their lives for freedom and democracy impressed people world wide.

In France, the people—not the king—held the power. One year later on July 14, the Fête de la Federation solidified the glory and new national character of the French Republic. Despite predicted thunderstorms, hundreds of thousands of citizens filled the Champs de Mars, which was then a field outside of Paris. The revelers drank,danced, sang and cheered as troops paraded throughout Paris.

The Marquis de La Fayette, the French hero of the American War of Independence, took an oath to uphold the new constitution and protect the liberties it provided. The king also swore to uphold the new constitution decreed by the National Assembly. These busts of patriotism and solidarity signaled that the unity of the nation was no longer an abstract concept, but a reality.

Representatives from across Europe and France's newest ally, the United States, gathered in Paris to celebrate the new Republic. The American delegation, led by navy hero John Paul Jones, was met with cheers from the French people. Grateful for French assistance during its own revolution 10 years earlier, the delegation presented France with an American flag, the first ever to fly outside of the United States. It represented the strong alliance between the two countries that would endure for many centuries to come.

Bastille Day - one of the grand events in the history of mankind.

Source: News from France

Read about celebration of Bastille Day at Embassy of France
View plan of Bastille towers