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Léa Giandomenico
Published on
This year, July 14 fell on Monday. Perfect for a three-day weekend. But this date is mainly that of our national holiday, marked each year by a military parade on the Champs Élysées, in Paris. The opportunity to remember the capture of the Bastille, in 1789, and also of another July 14, that history has relegated a little to the background. Recall bite.
Taking the Bastille in 1789
To understand why we are celebrating on July 14 still now, we have to rewind a little to recall the events of the French Revolution.
“In 1789, the Estates General composed of elected representatives of the nobility, the clergy and the third state were brought together on May 5 following the complaints reached to King Louis XVI. On June 27, the King accepted the rally of the three orders which proclaimed themselves “National Constituent Assembly” on July 9 “, recalls the Vie-publique.fr site.
At the same time, royal troops are concentrated around Versailles and Paris. Minister Necker’s dismissal on July 11 and the rumor of the intervention of royal troops ended up convincing the Parisian population to organize themselves and calls for arms are launched.
On the morning of July 14, a crowd gathers to take up arms, stored at the Invalides. The Parisians involved then take the direction of the Bastille to recover powder
“The governor of the stronghold decides to have the crowd shot and a day of shootings follows. The garrison goes while its governor was executed shortly after taking the Bastille, ”explains the government site.
The Federation Festival in 1790
A year later, on July 14, 1790, the taking of the Bastille was celebrated during The federation party.
The local federations of the national guards, which were created in all the French provinces during the summer of 1789, gathered at the Champ-de-Mars in Paris to parade and celebrate the first anniversary of the capture of the Bastille and the Union of the Nation.
The national holiday celebrated since July 14, 1880
It’s almost 100 years later, In 1880, under the Third Republic, that a law is passed to mark this day of July 14 as national day.
It is not well known whether this article confirms the commemoration of the taking of the Bastille of 1789 or the first festive of the Federation of 1790.
The two July 14 are therefore in reality celebrated: the people’s revolt as the Union of the Nation. We celebrate well “the roots of the Republic”.
Each year, a military parade
Since the adoption of July 14 as an annual national holiday (in 1880 therefore), a central place has been granted to the army in the festivities.
In 1880, the first official program provided for a military parade on the Longchamp racecourse. This choice of July 14 was made, because this date represented an event and a civic party mixing the people and the army. Since then, the military parade has been registered in the program of national festivities.
And it was after the First World War, on July 14, 1919, that the military parade took place on the Champs-Élysées (in 1919 with the “broken mouths” followed by victorious allied troops and the French army).
A solemn event in the capital, and which is then declined in a festive way, with celebrations and fireworks everywhere in France.
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