Bastille Day
Next: July 14, 2027
Dancing, fireworks and the tricolour.
The story
Where it comes from
France's national day, the Fête nationale, honours two 14 Julys. On 14 July 1789 the people of Paris took the Bastille, a fortress that had become a symbol of royal power, and the day became a founding moment of the French Revolution. A year later, on 14 July 1790, the Fête de la Fédération gathered some 100,000 delegates on the Champ de Mars to celebrate the unity of the nation. In 1880 a law proposed by the deputy Benjamin Raspail made 14 July the national holiday.
How it's celebrated
The first national day in 1880 set the pattern: a parade in the morning, then banquets, games and open-air bals populaires to the sound of brass bands, with torchlit processions and fireworks after dark. The military parade in Paris has been held on the Champs-Élysées since 1980, and it is sometimes opened by troops from a guest country. Since 1880 the day has also been a public holiday.
Did you know
- When the crowd entered the Bastille in 1789, they found only seven prisoners, four of them forgers.
- In 2009 India was the guest of honour, and 400 Indian soldiers opened the parade on the Champs-Élysées.
- To prepare the Champ de Mars for the 1790 festival, Parisians of every kind joined the workmen with spades and wheelbarrows, and Louis XVI came to swing a pickaxe himself.
Coming up next
- World Youth Skills Day · July 15, 2027
- Roald Amundsen's Birthday · July 16, 2027
- World Emoji Day · July 17, 2027
- Nelson Mandela International Day · July 18, 2027
- National Ice Cream Day · July 18, 2027
- Edgar Degas's Birthday · July 19, 2027