Jour de la Bastille, the national day of France is commonly known as Bastille Day in English. Every year on 14th July France celebrates her national day. On this day France celebrates the storming of the Bastille as a national holiday. Bastille was a military fortress and prison. The Bastille symbolized the tyranny of the French monarchy especially King Louis XVI.

France used to celebrate this day very enthusiastically but from 2020 this celebration holds back. As in 2020 for the first time since 1945, authorities have called off the annual military parade along the Champs-Elysees in Paris due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Only 2,000 soldiers – half the usual number were gathered at the Place de la Concorde. In 2020 French Macron tweeted “This July, we will pay tribute to those who have put all their strength, all their skills, all their humanity against the virus.”

This year, France celebrated her national day with a traditional national military parade but firework has been canceled due to the pandemic and concerns over the Delta variant. This year the theme of the parade is “Winning the Future” highlighting “the French’s will to overcome health crisis-related difficulties”. The occasion reveals the army’s anticipation role “thanks to high technology (…) able to prevent crisis and imagine fights from the future”. This year, French President Emmanuel Macron wishes to express “The [Nation’s] affection for the army” and pay tribute to the women and men “who chose to fight for France and shown a sense of commitment and availability like no other”.

Fall of Bastille

The Bastille was built in the 1300s during the Hundred Years’ War against the English. It was designed to protect the eastern entrance to the city of Paris. And later used as a French state prison and a place of detention for important persons during the 17th and 18th centuries by the reign of Louis XVI.

During the time of the American Revolution, America and France worked together. France helped America with the aim to end England’s power in the American colonies. A lot of money was spent in the war and consequences were paid by the people of France suffering from starvation, unemployment, and tensions in the country.

In 1789, there was an economic crisis and tensions in France, the people of France were frustrated and angry with the cruel behavior of kings and elites, and clergies. The Bastille was a symbol of the tyranny of king and queen. The revolutionaries, more than 1000 people most of them were craftsmen and store owners of the Paris marched towards the Bastille on 14th July 1789. They demanded that the military leader (governor de Launay) of Bastille surrender the prison and hand over the gunpowder but he refused and due to this crowd become angry. The revolutionaries managed to enter the courtyard and began to try and break into the main fortress. The soldiers started firing and the fight begins. But an interesting or turning point of this fight was when soldiers joined the side of the crowd. And the military leader surrendered the fort to the revolutionary. Governor de Launay was killed, some prisoners were released (only seven prisoners were inside) and Bastille was razed and mixed in the soil. The storming of Bastille led to a series of events that led to overthrew of King Louis XVI and the French Revolution. The people who took part in the storming of Bastilles were considered heroes during the revolution and took the title “Vainequeurs de la Bastille” meaning “winners of the Bastille”.

The date 14th July represents the unity of French people

The date of the fall of Bastille 14 July is celebrated today as the French National Day. In France, it is called the “The National Celebration” or The Fourteenth July”.