🇫🇷 Days Until Bastille Day
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days until Bastille Day (July 14)
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About Bastille Day
Bastille Day (La Fête Nationale) is the French national holiday celebrated on July 14th. It commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789, a pivotal event in the French Revolution that symbolized the overthrow of royal authority. Celebrations include a large military parade on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, fireworks at the Eiffel Tower, public dances (bals des pompiers), and community gatherings across France. The holiday is a symbol of French republican values: liberty, equality, and fraternity.
How to prepare for Bastille Day
If you're in Paris, claim a viewing spot along the Champs-Élysées early in the morning for the military parade, and head to the Trocadéro or Champ de Mars for the best view of the Eiffel Tower fireworks. Attend a bal des pompiers (firehouse dance) — they're held the evenings of July 13th and 14th at fire stations across France. Prepare a French-inspired menu with cheese, baguettes, ratatouille, and crêpes. Even outside France, many cities host French cultural events worth seeking out.
Traditions and customs
Known in France simply as La Fête Nationale or le 14 juillet, Bastille Day marks the storming of the Bastille fortress in 1789, a turning point of the French Revolution. Paris hosts Europe's oldest and largest military parade down the Champs-Élysées, followed by fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. Across the country, "firemen's balls" (bals des pompiers) turn fire stations into public dance parties on the evenings of the 13th and 14th.
Frequently asked questions
- When is Bastille Day?
- Bastille Day is July 14th, a fixed date and France's national day.
- What does Bastille Day commemorate?
- It marks the storming of the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789, an early flashpoint of the French Revolution, and the Fête de la Fédération held a year later to celebrate national unity.
- What do the French call Bastille Day?
- In France it is not called "Bastille Day" but rather La Fête Nationale ("the National Celebration") or simply le quatorze juillet — the fourteenth of July.