French Holidays - Bastille Day (Le Quatorze Juillet)

France's national holiday, Bastille Day, falls on July 14th This event of 1789 is the beginning of the Great French Revolution and is valued by descendants as a symbol of the political liberation of the common people from the despotism of power The revolution itself took place under the motto of equality of citizens and universal brotherhood Although it dragged on for a decade, the bourgeoisie, peasantry and urban lower class were able to defeat the old order, which led to a crisis in the country Not the least role was played by the uncertain reign of the monarch Louis XVI The previous rulers greatly emptied the treasury, and all attempts to revive the economic situation were defeated by the opposition of the aristocratic elite The nobility did not want to pay taxes, help the country, and actively opposed the third, lower class to participate in making any decisions related to governance By the summer of 1789, the economic crisis had virtually ruined French production, and political disagreements had reached their limit, including over the endless change of finance ministers A series of circumstances, such as natural disasters, also led to the sad ending, the overthrow of the monarchy The associated crop failures caused a surge in hunger and mortality, and the pre-revolutionary winter was particularly harsh A combination of factors has created an urgent need to reform the system But the upper class was not ready to sacrifice either money or power The organized National Assembly was under threat of dispersal, and government troops, which were converging on Paris, did not contribute to the adoption of peaceful decisions From June 12, the people began active resistance, under the influence and direct leadership of the leaders of liberation ideas The French army went over to the side of the Paris Commune, and nothing could stop the masses And so on July 14, the decision was made to storm the famous fortress-prison Completed in 1382 as a fortification, it soon became a refuge for prisoners Many terrifying stories have been seen on those walls, and many of them are real legends, such as the “Iron Mask”, whose identity has not yet been revealed In the 16th century, visiting the Bastille as a prisoner was even honorable and popular among philosophers, publicists and other free-thinking bright minds of that time: Voltaire, Cagliostro, Fouquet, Beaumarchais At the time of the attack, there were only 7 prisoners there, but it was the bloody history of the Bastille that associated it with the power of the monarchy At the same time, the attackers hoped to replenish their arsenal at the expense of an ammunition depot The active resistance of the prison garrison led to casualties: the liberators lost almost 100 people The commandant himself paid with his head for refusing to surrender Subsequently, a similar fate befell the representative of the Bourbons, Louis XVI But the dynasty still exists today, unlike the Bastille: after 2 months, the townspeople did not leave a single stone The July Column was erected on this site decades later By coincidence, it has nothing to do with 1789: it is in honor of other revolutionary events of July 1830 The overthrow of the old government and the construction of a democratic society cost France a huge number of victims, but with its ideological example it inspired other countries under the yoke of the ruling elite Bastille Day, albeit with a slightly different, originally sounding name (“Le Quatorze Juillet” - “The Fourteenth of July”), was officially established as a national holiday in 1880 And now for the French, July 14 is a patriotic and joyful day with its own traditions The Bastille is long gone, but it remains an unshakable symbol of France Celebrations in honor of distant events are widespread, some begin the day before, for example, the Tuileries Ball The main part of the holiday is the military parade on the Champs Elysees And to get to the Palace of Versailles, you should wear white The Paris Opera, many museums are open for free In the evening, after the orchestra's performance, fireworks begin on the Champ de Mars near another symbol - the Eiffel Tower Not only the French celebrate this holiday today For example, in Germany for the last few years a rally of French cars has been organized and people are introduced to the national cuisine And in Russia, despite the events of 1812, they love French culture and remember this date The special project “Bastille”, implemented annually in St Petersburg, will introduce those interested to the history and culture of France