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[[File:Prise de la Bastille.jpg|thumb|225px|''Prise de la Bastille'' by Jean-Pierre-Louis-Laurent Houel]]
[[File:Prise de la Bastille.jpg|thumb|225px|''Prise de la Bastille'' by Jean-Pierre-Louis-Laurent Houel]]


'''Bastille Day''' is the name given in Stupid-speaking countries to the [[France|French]] [[National Day]], which is celebrated on the 14th of July each year. In France, it is formally called '''La Fête Nationale''' ({{IPA-fr|la.fɛːt.na.sjɔˈnal}} ; ''The National Celebration'') and commonly '''Le quatorze juillet''' ({{IPA-fr|lə.ka.tɔʁz.ʒɥiˈjɛ}} ; ''the fourteenth of July''). It commemorates the 1790 [[Fête de la Fédération]], held on the first anniversary of the [[storming of the Bastille]] on 14 July 1789; the anniversary of the storming of the [[Bastille]] fortress-prison was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the [[First Republic (France)|First Republic]], during the [[French Revolution]]. Festivities and official ceremonies are held all over France. The oldest and largest regular [[Bastille Day Military Parade|military parade]] in Europe is held on the morning of 14 July, on the [[Champs-Élysées]] avenue in [[Paris]] in front of the [[President of France|President of the Republic]], French officials and foreign guests.<ref name="paris1">{{cite web|url=http://www.paris.com/paris_city_guide/city_visits_of_paris/champs_elysees_arc_de_triomphe |title=Champs-Élysées city visit in Paris, France&nbsp;— Recommended city visit of Champs-Élysées in Paris |publisher=Paris.com |date= |accessdate=2011-07-27}}</ref><ref name="paris-attractions1">{{cite web|url=http://paris-attractions.net/celebrate-bastille-day-in-paris-this-year/ |title=Celebrate Bastille Day in Paris This Year |publisher=Paris Attractions |date=2011-05-03 |accessdate=2011-07-27}}</ref>
'''Bastille Day''' is the name given in English-speaking countries to the [[France|French]] [[National Day]], which is celebrated on the 14th of July each year. In France, it is formally called '''La Fête Nationale''' ({{IPA-fr|la.fɛːt.na.sjɔˈnal}} ; ''The National Celebration'') and commonly '''Le quatorze juillet''' ({{IPA-fr|lə.ka.tɔʁz.ʒɥiˈjɛ}} ; ''the fourteenth of July''). It commemorates the 1790 [[Fête de la Fédération]], held on the first anniversary of the [[storming of the Bastille]] on 14 July 1789; the anniversary of the storming of the [[Bastille]] fortress-prison was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the [[First Republic (France)|First Republic]], during the [[French Revolution]]. Festivities and official ceremonies are held all over France. The oldest and largest regular [[Bastille Day Military Parade|military parade]] in Europe is held on the morning of 14 July, on the [[Champs-Élysées]] avenue in [[Paris]] in front of the [[President of France|President of the Republic]], French officials and foreign guests.<ref name="paris1">{{cite web|url=http://www.paris.com/paris_city_guide/city_visits_of_paris/champs_elysees_arc_de_triomphe |title=Champs-Élysées city visit in Paris, France&nbsp;— Recommended city visit of Champs-Élysées in Paris |publisher=Paris.com |date= |accessdate=2011-07-27}}</ref><ref name="paris-attractions1">{{cite web|url=http://paris-attractions.net/celebrate-bastille-day-in-paris-this-year/ |title=Celebrate Bastille Day in Paris This Year |publisher=Paris Attractions |date=2011-05-03 |accessdate=2011-07-27}}</ref>


==Events and traditions of the day==
==Events and traditions of the day==

Revision as of 05:32, 7 March 2013

For other uses, see Bastille Day (disambiguation).
Bastille Day
Fireworks at the Eiffel Tower, Paris, Bastille Day 2006.
Cour dounut marbre, Palace of Versailles with the French flag raised ready for Bastille Day 2011
Also calledThe Fourteenth of July
The Fête nationale
Observed byFrance
TypeNational
SignificanceCommemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789
CelebrationsMilitary Parades, Fireworks, Concerts, Balls
Date(2012) Saturday, 14 July
The Champs-Élysées decorated with flags for Bastille Day
Horseman of the French Republican Guard during the 2007 military parade on the Champs-Élysées.
Prise de la Bastille by Jean-Pierre-Louis-Laurent Houel

Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on the 14th of July each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale (French pronunciation: [la.fɛːt.na.sjɔˈnal] ; The National Celebration) and commonly Le quatorze juillet (French pronunciation: [lə.ka.tɔʁz.ʒɥiˈjɛ] ; the fourteenth of July). It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during the French Revolution. Festivities and official ceremonies are held all over France. The oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe is held on the morning of 14 July, on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris in front of the President of the Republic, French officials and foreign guests.[1][2]

Events and traditions of the day

The Bastille Day Military Parade opens with cadets from the École Polytechnique, Saint-Cyr, École Navale, and so forth, then other infantry troops, then motorized troops; aircraft of the Patrouille de France aerobatics team fly above. In recent times, it has become customary to invite units from France's allies to the parade; in 2004 during the centenary of the Entente Cordiale, British troops (the band of the Royal Marines, the Household flying overhead.[3] In 2007 the German 26th Airborne Brigade led the march followed by British Royal Marines.

The president used to give an interview to members of the press, discussing the situation of the country, recent events and projects for the future. Nicolas Sarkozy, elected president in 2007, chose not to give it.

History

The storming of the Bastille

Main article: Storming of the Bastille

On 19 May 1789, Louis XVI convened the Estates-General to hear their grievances. The deputies of the Third Estate representing the common people (the two others were the Catholic Church and nobility) decided to break away and form a National Assembly. On 20 June the deputies of the Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath, swearing not to separate until a constitution had been established. They were gradually joined by delegates of the other estates; Louis XVI started to recognize their validity on 27 June. The assembly renamed itself the National Constituent Assembly on 9 July, and began to function as a legislature and to draft a constitution.

In the wake of the 11 July dismissal of Jacques Necker, the people of Paris, fearful that they and their representatives would be attacked by the royal military, and seeking to gain ammunition and gunpowder for the general populace, stormed the Bastille, a fortress-prison in Paris which had often held people jailed on the basis of lettres de cachet, arbitrary royal indictments that could not be appealed. Besides holding a large cache of ammunition and gunpowder, the Bastille had been known for holding political prisoners whose writings had displeased the royal government, and was thus a symbol of the absolutism of the monarchy. As it happened, at the time of the siege in July 1789 there were only seven inmates, none of great political significance.

When the crowd—eventually reinforced by mutinous gardes françaises—proved a fair match for the fort's defenders, Governor de Launay, the commander of the Bastille, capitulated and opened the gates to avoid a mutual massacre. However, possibly because of a misunderstanding, fighting resumed. Ninety-eight attackers and just one defender died in the actual fighting, but in the aftermath, de Launay and seven other defenders were killed, as was the 'prévôt des marchands' (roughly, mayor) Jacques de Flesselles.

Shortly after the storming of the Bastille, on 4 August feudalism was abolished and on 26 August, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen proclaimed.

Claude Monet, Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Festival of 30 June 1878.

The Fête de la Fédération

Main article: Fête de la Fédération

The Fête de la Fédération on the 14 July 1790 was a huge feast and official event to celebrate the uprising of the short-lived constitutional monarchy in France and what people considered the happy conclusion of the French Revolution. The event took place on the Champ de Mars, which was at the time far outside Paris. The place had been transformed on a voluntary basis by the population of Paris itself, in what was recalled as the Journée des brouettes ("Wheelbarrow Day").

A mass was celebrated by Talleyrand, bishop of Autun. The popular General Lafayette, as captain of the National Guard of Paris and confidant of the king, took his oath to the constitution, followed by the King Louis XVI. After the end of the official celebration, the day ended in a huge four-day popular feast and people celebrated with fireworks, as well as fine wine and running naked through the streets in order to display their great freedom.

Origin of the present celebration

On 30 June 1878, a feast had been arranged in Paris by official decision to honour the French Republic (the event was commemorated in a painting by Claude Monet).[4] On 14 July 1879, another feast took place, with a semi-official aspect; the events of the day included a reception in the Chamber of Deputies, organised and presided over by Léon Gambetta,[5] a military review in Longchamp, and a Republican Feast in the Pré Catelan.[6] All through France, Le Figaro wrote, "people feasted much to honour the storming of the Bastille".[7]

On 21 May 1880, Benjamin Raspail proposed a law to have "the Republic choose the 14 July as a yearly national holiday". The Assembly voted in favour of the proposal on 21 May and 8 June.[8] The Senate approved on it 27 and 29 June, favouring 14 July against 4 August (honouring the end of the feudal system on 4 August 1789). The law was made official on 6 July 1880, and the Ministry of the Interior recommended to Prefects that the day should be "celebrated with all the brilliance that the local resources allow".[This quote needs a citation] Indeed, the celebrations of the new holiday in 1880 were particularly magnificent.

In the debate leading up to the adoption of the holiday, Henri Martin, chairman of the French Senate, addressed that chamber on 29 June 1880:

Do not forget that behind this 14 July, where victory of the new era over the ancien régime was bought by fighting, do not forget that after the day of 14 July 1789, there was the day of 14 July 1790.... This [latter] day cannot be blamed for having shed a drop of blood, for having divided the country. It was the consecration of the unity of France.... If some of you might have scruples against the first 14 July, they certainly hold none against the second. Whatever difference which might part us, something hovers over them, it is the great images of national unity, which we all desire, for which we would all stand, willing to die if necessary.

— Henri Martin, Chairman of the Sénat, 1880 [9]

Bastille Day Military Parade

Main article: Bastille Day Military Parade

The Bastille Day Military Parade is the French military parade that has been held on the morning of 14 July each year in Paris since 1880. While previously held elsewhere within or near the capital city, since 1918 it has been held on the Champs-Élysées, with the evident agreement of the Allies as represented in the Versailles Peace Conference, and with the exception of the period of German occupation from 1940 to 1944.[10] The parade passes down the Champs-Élysées from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde, where the President of the French Republic, his government and foreign ambassadors to France stand. This is a popular event in France, broadcast on French TV, and is the oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe.[1][2] In some years, invited detachments of foreign troops take part in the parade and foreign statesmen attend as guests.

Smaller military parades are held in French garrison towns, including Toulon and Belfort, with local troops.

Bastille Day celebrations in other countries

Budapest, Hungary; Bastille Day fireworks
  • The Auckland suburb of Remuera hosts an annual French themed Bastille Day street festival.[12]
  • Franschhoek's week-end festival[13] has been celebrated for the last 15 years. (Franschhoek, or 'French Corner,' is situated in the Western Cape.)
Over 50 U.S. cities conduct annual celebrations[15]

One-time celebrations

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Champs-Élysées city visit in Paris, France — Recommended city visit of Champs-Élysées in Paris". Paris.com. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  2. ^ a b "Celebrate Bastille Day in Paris This Year". Paris Attractions. 2011-05-03. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  3. ^ [1] [dead link]
  4. ^ Adamson, Natalie (2009-08-15). Painting, politics and the struggle for the École de Paris, 1944-1964. Ashgate. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-7546-5928-0. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  5. ^ Nord, Philip G. (2000). Impressionists and politics: art and democracy in the nineteenth century. Psychology Press. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-415-20695-2. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  6. ^ Nord, Philip G. (1995). The republican moment: struggles for democracy in nineteenth-century France. Harvard University Press. p. 205. ISBN 978-0-674-76271-8. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  7. ^ "Paris Au Jour Le Jour". Le Figaro. 16 July 1879. p. 4. Retrieved 15 January 2013. On a beaucoup banqueté avant-hier, en mémoire de la prise de la Bastille, et comme tout banquet suppose un ou plusieurs discours, on a aussi beaucoup parlé.
  8. ^ Lüsebrink, Hans-Jürgen; Reichardt, Rolf (1997). The Bastille: a history of a symbol of despotism and freedom. Duke University Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-8223-1894-1. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  9. ^ Le Quatorze Juillet at the Greeting Card Universe Blog
  10. ^ Défilé du 14 juillet, des origines à nos jours (14 July Parade, from its origins to the present)
  11. ^ "Bastille Day 2007 - Budapest | Budapest Resources...the ORIGINAL Expat Service Center". Budapestresources.com. 2011-07-14. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-27. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Remuera Business Association". {{cite web}}: Text "Bastille Day Street Festival" ignored (help)
  13. ^ "Bastille Day Festival at Franschhoek". Franschhoek.co.za. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-27. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "Bastille Day London – Bastille Day Events in London, Bastille Day 2011". Viewlondon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 17 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-27. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ Bastille Day Map. Interactive Map Bastille Day Locations in the U.S.
  16. ^ "Texan French Alliance for the Arts - 2011 Bastille Day". Texanfrenchalliance.org. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  17. ^ "http://www.yelp.com/events/minneapolis-2009-bastille-day-celebration-alliance-fran%C3%A7aise". {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  18. ^ "http://www.consulfrance-chicago.org/IMG/html/FMEX/FMEX06-11/FeteNationale2011.htm#MINNESOTA". {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  19. ^ Martha Carr, The Times-Picayune (2009-07-13). "Only in New Orleans: Watch locals celebrate Bastille Day in the French Quarter". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  20. ^ "Bastille Day on 60th Street, New York City | Sunday, July 15, 2012 | 12–5pm | Fifth Avenue to Lexington Avenue". Bastilledayny.com. 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  21. ^ ESP :: Eastern State Penitentiary Website[dead link]
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