National holiday (France)
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July 14 is the French national holiday ( French fête national or 14 juillet ) and recalls the storming of the Bastille on 14. July 1789 and to the Federation Festival ( Fête de la Fédération ) in 1790, which dealt with the popular uprising last year , and with it the beginning of the French Revolution .
July 14th is commonly celebrated with military parades across the country and is widely viewed as a celebration of France's past victories. The largest and most famous of these parades takes place in Paris on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées . At the same time, the day is also a folk festival with evening fireworks at the Eiffel Tower and balls, which are traditionally hosted by the Paris fire brigade . In various cities the festival takes place on the night of July 14th, but in most cities it takes place on the night of July 15th. Outside France , a folk festival is sometimes organized by the embassy , for example inBerlin .
history
On July 14, 1790, the so-called federation festival was celebrated, at which the king swore a solemn oath on the nation in front of representatives of all provinces and estates. It is reported that people of all classes and classes were involved in the work that was necessary to prepare the fields of Mars ( champs de mars ) for the festival. That is why the federation festival is seen as a sign of solidarity among the French people.
On July 6, 1880, the anniversary of the federation festival was declared a national holiday. The central location of the celebration was the Longchamp hippodrome , where a military parade was held as a symbol of the reconciliation between the republic and the army . The guidelines for the celebration included two items on the agenda that should surpass all others. First, in front of 300,000 spectators and President Jules Ferry , the army received new flags and standards from the Secretary of Defense. In addition, a monument with a statue of the "Republic" was inaugurated on the then Place du Château d'eau (today Place de la République ), which had been selected in an open competition the year before. There was also a big concert in the Jardin du Luxembourg , as the Senate had moved into the Palais du Luxembourg that year .
Another milestone of the holiday were the celebrations on July 14, 1919, which coincided with the triumphal march to end the First World War . For the first time, troops from all alliance powers of the Entente moved across the Avenue des Champs-Élysées .
No extensive celebrations took place during the occupation of the country in World War II . The day was set by the Vichy government as a day of remembrance, in which the church was also involved. However, traditional celebrations of the Free French took place in London and New York .
July 14, 1945 was another highlight of the holiday, as France was able to celebrate victory and freedom again, as it had after the First World War. The military parade ran from the Place de la Nation via the Place de la République to the Arc de Triomphe .
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On July 14, 2007, around 1000 soldiers from all 27 EU countries marched in the military parade. EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso saw this as a "great gesture".
The participation of soldiers from 70 countries was planned for July 14, 2014; participants from all countries that took part in the First World War had been invited.
On July 14, 2016, an attack was carried out in Nice on the people gathered on the beach promenade, killing over 80 people. For fear of further attacks, strict controls were carried out on all spectators on the Champs-Elysées.
Different date
Viriat , located in the Ain department north of Bourg-en-Bresse , does not celebrate July 14th until August so as not to disturb the haymaking. This was laid down in a municipal decree in 1880.
Web links
- National Day - July 14th - France's official website (German)
- Page of the French Senate on July 14th
- Page of the French President on July 14th ( Memento of June 17, 2007 on the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Press release of the French Embassy in Berlin, July 1st, 2009 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Information on the French government website france.fr ( memento of July 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on May 7, 2014
