Military parades, fireworks, dances and festive meals will form major celebrations for the annual Bastille Day in France. Referred to the French as La Fete Nationale or Le 14 Juillet, the public holiday will see much of France getting a day off as businesses, post offices and banks will close. Bastille festivities are also held in French communities around the world in the US, UK and South Africa to name a few. What is Bastille Day? How is it connected to the French Revolution?
Bastille Day is rooted in the beginnings of the French Revolution, specifically the Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789.
At that time, France was in huge turmoil because of high taxes leaving commoners in poverty.
Ruling monarch King Louis XVI was viewed as a tyrant responsible for locking up his opponents and causing people to go hungry.
His authority was signified by The Bastille, a state prison used for upper-class prisoners.
Livid protestors decided to storm the fortress, which only had seven prisoners inside at the time, as a way of undermining King Louis XVI’s power.
This sparked the French Revolution that followed and the downfall of the country’s monarchy.
King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette were both later arrested and executed, losing their heads under the guillotine.
The year after the riots, the first Bastille Day celebrations took place in the spot where the Eiffel Tower now stands.
Politician Benjamin Raspail later campaigned for the day to become a national holiday in France in 1880.
Nowadays, the joyous occasion remembers the French values of liberty and equality – but without the bloodshed.
The biggest event held is a larger military parade in Paris attended by thousands of people, including the French president.
Military servicemen and women file along the Champs-Elysee on horseback while military aircraft flies above.
But lots of smaller celebrations are held in villages and towns across the country.
And Bastille Day festivities are not just held in France but around the world where French nationals live.
Large events are usually held in South Africa, the USA, Belgium and Hungary.
This year’s festivities fall on a Sunday.
In France, public transport is likely to be affected and road closures in place.