SUMMARY

Today is Bastille Day! / Aujourd’hui, c’est le quatorze juillet! This day marks the storming of the Bastille fortress (la prise de la Bastille) in Paris on 14th July, 1789. On this day, French prisoners planned to obtain the weapons and ammunition stored in the Bastille, and in the process, released the seven prisoners who were held there. It was a historic moment in the French Revolution (la Révolution Française) that symbolizes the resistance against the monarchy (la monarchie) of the Old Regime (l’Ancien Régime). In connection to le quatorze juillet is another event called The Festival of the Federation (la Fête de la Fédération), which took place a year after the storming of the Bastille and marks France’s turn into a constitutional monarchy (une monarchie constitutionnelle). This day became a national holiday (une fête nationale) in France in 1880 and is celebrated in France and around the world!