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July 14 is celebrated as Bastille Day in France.
The Bastille was a prison in Paris, which the people stormed and seized in 1789,
starting the French Revolution that toppled King Louis XVI and the aristocracy.
It is called Fête Nationale (National Holiday) in France.
France at that time was ruled by King Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette.
It was an absolute monarchy, meaning that whatever the king and queen wanted,
they got. It didn't matter whether the people were starving in the streets, so
long as the royal banquet tables were full.
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Bastille Day is a National holiday in France. It
is very much like Independence Day in the United States because it is a
celebration of the beginning of a new form of government.
Just as the people in the United States celebrate the signing of the Declaration
of Independence as the beginning of the American Revolution, so the people in
France celebrate the storming of the Bastille as the beginning of the French
Revolution. Both Revolutions brought great changes. Kings and queens no longer
rule. The people rule themselves and make their own decisions.
For the people of France, the Bastille symbolized
the oppression of the monarchy, for it was there that those who spoke out
against the king were confined. The prisoners inside the Bastille were given no
trial - they were placed there under the king's orders and only he could decide
when and if they would be freed.
All through the city people are celebrate with the zest and joy and soulfulness
that is singularly French in spirit and energy. Firecrackers that look like pipe
bombs explode randomly and often. It is such a frequent occurrence that crowds
have stopped dispersing as they detonate at their ankles.
As night falls, the excitement reaches another stage, thrusters red, a warp buzz
coming on. The official fireworks begin at 10:30pm, and are absolutely
spectacular. People dance and bands play down by the Bastille. There are so many
people the crowd seems to sway, rather than dance, save for a hole here and
there where there's a pocket of belligerence or bawdiness.
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