La Fête Nationale

National Day

Le 14 juillet, Fête nationale française :

Bastille Day is the French National Day which is celebrated on 14th July of each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête Nationale (The National Celebration) and commonly le quatorze juillet (the fourteenth of July). It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the First Republic during the French Revolution. Festivities and official ceremonies are held all over France. The oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe is held on the morning of 14th July, on the Champs Elysée avenue in Paris in front of the President of the Republic , French officials and foreign guests.

The evening often sees firework displays by the Eiffel Tower.