Bastille Day – le quatorze juillet
We’ve had such a lovely summer so far, hot and sunny. There are fetes and fairs going on in most towns and villages every weekend now. Our local town of Lectoure held a night market on Monday 13th July, and there was also a ceremony for the inauguration of the newly renovated place du Général de Gaulle in front of the cathedral. There were fireworks too as it was the eve of Bastille day.
In short Bastille Day is the French national holiday celebrated on 14 July each year. In France it is a Fête Nationale, a National Celebration, or sometimes just known as le quatorze juillet (14th July). This date commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération which was 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 are held on the morning of 14 July on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris in front of the President of the Republic.
Throughout France cities, towns and villages celebrate this day sometimes starting on the eve (13th July) or on the day itself , and celebrations normally involve fireworks.