With the parade on the Champs Elysées and the fireworks, it is one of the flagship moments of the National Day. Sunday, July 13 and Monday, July 14, even from Friday 12 for the most in a hurry, many barracks open their doors for the “Firefighters”. If this tradition extends to all France, sometimes attracting tourists from around the world, it is not so easy to know when it started.
“I admit that I had never asked myself the questionrecognizes Commander Alain Bertolo, firefighter and history passionate. I know good dancers, but they are not good historians! »» Fortunately, another expert in the history of fire soldiers, the lieutenant of reserve Patrice Havard, scoured archives and flea markets to understand the origins of this high mass.
For him, no doubt: this tradition was not born in 1937 in Montmartre, as a widespread myth wants, but at the beginning of the 19th century. “Originally, the firefighters’ ball did not take place on July 14, but on August 15, the day of Saint-Napoleon, a party in honor of the emperor instituted by an imperial decree of 1806”retraces the former director of the museum of the Paris firefighters. As “soldiers”, the capital soldiers of the capital “ participated in all these events ” intended to mark the anniversary of the birth of the emperor.
“In the gymnasiums of the barracks, we pushed the apparatus, we installed hangings and decorations with the coat of arms of the emperor, each competing to make him happy”, Details Patrice Havard. But the proclamation of the Third Republic, on September 4, 1870, upsets the festivities.
Myth and history
For the army as for the population, no more question of celebrating the Empire. The firefighters then begin to organize their ball on July 14, the day of the national holiday, even if this event is still confidential: few barracks open their doors, and only the families and friends of the fire soldiers are invited.
Officially, Sergeant Cournet would have been the first to invite simple passers -by to participate in a ball, that of the Montmartre barracks on July 14, 1937. “Someone had to tell this story to explain the origin of the firefighters’ ball, thinking that this event was only celebrated in their barracks. But I found a 1926 program showing that it was not a first ”however, nuance the lieutenant of reserve Patrice Havard.
Party during the Second World War, the tradition of the firefighters resumed at the end of the conflict, winning an increasing number of barracks. Even today, this meeting continues even if its symbolism has evolved. The former director of the Paris firefighter museum estimates as well as the side “Patriotic” of the ball is now “Dilute” for the benefit of the character “Festive” of the event.
