July 14, 2017

Today, July 14, people in France celebrate what English-speaking people refer to as Bastille Day, a French national holiday similar to Independence Day. The holiday is a grand celebration throughout France, where public buildings and streets are decked out in the bleu-blanc-rouge—the blue-white-red of the tricolor, the French flag. In Paris, concerts, balls, and parades fill the city’s streets with people, and fireworks light up the nighttime sky. In France, Bastille Day is called the Fête Nationale (National Holiday) or simply le Quatorze Juillet (the Fourteenth of July).

A military parade moves down the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris, France, on Bastille Day–le 14 Juillet. Credit: © DreamSlamStudio/Shutterstock

The French National Holiday is celebrated on July 14 for two reasons. The first and most famous reason is to honor the “storming of the Bastille.” On July 14, 1789, angry Parisians attacked and captured the Bastille fortress—a largely symbolic act early in the French Revolution. The second reason is to celebrate the first Fête de la Fédération (Federation Celebration) held on July 14, 1790. This celebration remembered the storming of the Bastille and marked the peaceful and successful “end” of the budding revolution. As history tells us, however, the revolution did not end there (it continued until 1799), nor was it peaceful. The holiday remained, however, and in 1880, the Fête de la Fédération became the Fête Nationale.

The French flag is called the tricolor and features three vertical stripes of blue, white, and red (left to right ). In 1789, King Louis XVI first used its three colors to represent France. Credit: © Dream Maker Software

In 1789, the Bastille fortress was used as a prison. Its capture symbolized the new spirit of freedom that swept through France and led to the establishment of a popular government. The storming of the Bastille has inspired a number of songs, pamphlets, and orations. The rallying cry tous à la Bastille! (everyone to the Bastille!) can still be heard on Paris streets during political demonstrations or public acts of defiance.

This painting shows the storming of the Bastille, a royal fortress in Paris, on July 14, 1789. The capture of the fortress was one of the key early events of the revolution. Today, July 14 is celebrated as Bastille Day, the great national holiday of France. Credit: The storming of the Bastille (c. 1800), oil on canvas by unknown artist, Carnavalet Museum, Paris (© Corbis Images)

In 1790, the Federation Celebration honored the events of the year before, and many people believed the initial shake up of the revolution would be enough to enact real change and keep the peace. Many thousands of people from Paris and other parts of France—revolutionaries and monarchists alike, as well as King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette—turned out for a huge party on the Champ de Mars (Field of Mars). At the time, the Champ de Mars was a military training ground; today it is a lovely park that includes the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately, the good spirits and hopes of the Federation Celebration soon vanished. The revolution continued and a bloody period known as the Terreur (Terror) claimed thousands of lives, including those of the king and queen. Today, Bastille Day celebrations in Paris still center on the Champ de Mars.

July 15, 2016

Yesterday, July 14_, a terrorist drove a truck into a large crowd in Nice, France, killing 84 people and injuring dozens of others. The brutal attack took place on the resort city’s famed Promenade des Anglais seafront as it was packed with people celebrating Bastille Day, France’s great national holiday. A fireworks show was just finishing, around 11 p.m. local time, when the large commercial truck began ramming pedestrians at high speed along the promenade. Terrified people scrambled to get out of the way, but there was little time and little room for escape. The driver continued his rampage—some witnesses claimed he shot a handgun from the cab as he drove—for some 1¼ miles (2 kilometers). The battered truck finally came to a halt, and the terrorist fired his weapon from behind the wheel. Police killed him in a quick shootout. The driver was then identified as a Tunisian-French Nice resident known only for petty crimes.

Nice is located on the southeast coast of France.
Credit: WORLD BOOK map

French President François Hollande, who was elsewhere in the south of France for Bastille Day, rushed back to a national crisis center in Paris. “France is filled with sadness by this new tragedy,” Hollande said. “There’s no denying the terrorist nature of this attack.” There has yet to be any claim of responsibility for the attack, but it bears the markings of the Islamic State terrorist group (also known as ISIS, ISIL, or DAESH). Even if the group takes credit for the heinous act, the killer could very well have been acting on his own.

Nice is a popular resort city on the French Riviera and a Mediterranean port. It lies at the foot of the Alps near Italy. The Promenade des Anglais (English Walkway)—often called La Prom by locals—stretches along the sea with luxury hotels, shops, and villas on one side and lovely beaches on the other. It is the city’s most famous landmark. An estimated 30,000 people were along the walkway at the time of the attack.