Bastille Day – Viva Le France!

French people all over the world mark Bastille Day Tuesday as a celebration of the uprising of the modern French "nation".

Military parades were held on the morning of 14 July, the largest of which took place on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris in front of the President of the Republic.

The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, then gave an interview to members of the press, discussing the situation of the country, recent events and projects for the future. He will later hold a garden party at the Palais de l'Elisée.

Many cities across the world will set off fireworks on Tuesday evening. In France it is also customary that firemen organise dancing parties (bals du 14 juillet).

Bastille Day is celebrated on 14 July each year. It is called Fête Nationale (National Holiday) in France. It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789. The Fête de la Fédération was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern French "nation," and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic, during the French Revolution.

Bastille Day became an official celebration in 1880. On the 21 May 1880, Benjamin Raspail presented a law proposal to have "the Republic choose the 14 July as a yearly national holiday". The law was made official on 6 July 1880.

The day officially celebrates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, though it is often associated, even in France, with the Storming of the Bastille.

Viva Le France!

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