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| Military parade Champs-Élysées |
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| Storming of la Bastille by Jean-Pierre-Louis-Laurent Houel |
Today is
Bastille Day, the French national holiday which is celebrated on 14 July of each year!
In France, it is called
La Fête Nationale (
The National Celebration) or
le quatorze juillet (
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-Elysées avenue in Paris in front of the President of
the Republic, French officials and foreign guests.
The
14 July's festivities always end with fireworks in most of the cities
in France. The larger, most beautiful and most famous fireworks is the
one in the Eiffel Tower.
But, as it's always crowded, this year
I'll try to enjoy it from the top of the "Butte Montmartre" (plus it's
closer from my flat!).
I'll try to take a few nice pictures to share with you. Meanwhile, here are a few pictures of the fireworks: