Today France celebrates its national holiday. On this day in 1789, Parisians stormed and captured the Bastille - a medieval fortress and prison that became a symbol of despotic royal power.
At the time of the storming, there were only seven prisoners in it, but it is considered the beginning of the French Revolution and an icon of the French Republic.
The Bastille was built in 1382 as a fortification at the approaches to the capital Paris. Soon, however, it began to perform the functions of a prison, mostly for political prisoners. For 400 years, not a few celebrities have passed through the fortress-prison. Among them are La Rochefoucauld, Pierre de Beaumarchais, Marquis de Sade, Nicolas Fouquet... Francois Voltaire was twice a prisoner in the Bastille.
At the end of the 18th century, France was on the verge of bankruptcy. The convened States General - the highest constitutional representative body - proclaims itself the Constituent Assembly and sets itself the goal of working out the constitutional foundations of a new political order excluding absolutism.
The reason for the siege of the Bastille by the citizens of Paris is the spreading rumors that the king intends to dissolve the Constituent Assembly. At the same time, the royal troops took up a position near Paris.
On July 14, 1789, Parisians, determined to resist the royal forces, marched on the Bastille to seize the weapons stored there, although it is traditionally believed that the storming was to free the prisoners. At that time, there were only seven prisoners in the fortress, and the garrison that guarded it exceeded one hundred soldiers. The storm lasted four hours, the chief of the fortress was captured, and the prisoners – released.
After June 14, the Paris City Hall decided to demolish the Bastille, which happened over the next three years.
Now, on the site of the destroyed Bastille, there is Bastille Square – where many streets and boulevards intersect. In the center of the square stands a column topped by the bronze statue of the Genius of Liberty by Auguste Rodin. In one hand he holds the torch of civilization and in the other the broken chains of slavery.
July 14 became a national holiday of France on January 31, 1879.
On July 14 itself, a solemn military parade takes place on the Champs-Élysées - starting at 10 a.m. from Etoile in the direction of the Louvre, with the president receiving it personally. On Place de la Concorde, opposite the famous Arc de Triomphe, special stands have been erected for spectators. The finale of the holiday is the big salute and the illuminations near the Eiffel Tower and on the Field of Mars. This real pyrotechnic show usually starts at 10 pm.