Bastille Day

“Bastille Day” is the American name for the French national holiday. Held on the 14th of July (and therefore, in French, typically called “le 14 juillet”), it celebrates the beginning of the French Revolution, similar to the American Independence Day/July 4th. However, the French were not colonized – the French Revolution was instead a civil war to overthrow their own king and replace him with a more democratic form of government.

The Bastille was a very important state prison in Paris. At the time of the Revolution, many people believed it to be a horrible place filled with miserable prisoners and torture chambers. However, in reality, the Bastille rarely housed many prisoners – when it was overthrown, there were only 7 people living there – and many of them were famous, rich, and continued to live in style even while in prison. There was even a wine cellar!

But the people of Paris did not tear down the prison to save these prisoners, even when they thought the prison was a terrible place to be. On July 14th, 1789, numerous newspapers, the best way for people to get information at the time, ran stories about how the royal troops were going to occupy Paris soon, and demanding that the guns and ammunition stored at the prison be returned so they could defend themselves. The king refused, and that same evening, the people stormed the prison in a wild mob, overthrowing the guards stationed there and taking what supplies they could find. This was the beginning of the Revolution.

The Bastille was later destroyed entirely and the stones used to help build several bridges across the Seine in the middle of Paris. However, there is a monument showing where it used to be.

The French celebrate le 14 juillet in much the same way as Americans celebrate the 4th of July. There are parades - the President of France and the military parade through Paris, down the Champs-Elysees, but there are many smaller parades all over France – and lots of picnics and summer foods. In the evening, there is generally plenty of music and huge fireworks shows. The fireworks show in Paris is always held at the Eiffel Tower and is 45 minutes long!