The most common misconception about French National Day is that it’s a celebration of an anniversary commemorating the destruction of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. The day also marks the official launch of the French Revolution.
It’s, in reality, a much more complicated story.
Jean-Pierre Houel (1735-1813), The Storming of the Bastille, 1789. Bibliotheque nationale de France
While English people speak of Bastille Day, in France, Bastille Day is closely tied to an event in history: the Fete de la Federation (Festival of the Federation). This massive gathering took place on July 14, 1790.
The year 1789 was the time that inhabitants of Paris took on the Bastille as a prison for political reasons, an emblem of monarchy, and an arsenal. The people wanted to take ammunition, weapons, and powder in order to defeat the royal soldiers stationed within the vicinity of Paris.
In the 1790s, Fete de la Federation was conceived to begin the beginning of a new period that abolished absolutism and created the French Constitutional monarchy.
Thousands of people from all over the world converged at the Champ-de-Mars in Paris to watch an army parade led by Lafayette and Talleyrand, the celebration of a mass led by Talleyrand, and a sworn oath ceremony that culminated in rousing and short speeches by Kings Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette.
The Oath was taken by La Fayaette during La Fayaette’s Oath at the Fete de la Federation, July 14, 1790, artist unknown, ca1790-1791. musee de la Revolution francaise
It was not a traditional occasion; it was merely an opportunity to mark an era of unity in the nation.
In less than three years less than three years later, the queen’s and the king’s heads would be slamming into the blade of a guillotine, and the monarchy of the constitution was replaced by the French First Republic.
A date that is constantly shifting
France has seen many national holidays, each one reflecting the current political climate of the time.
Napoleon I (Emperor from 1804 until 1814) declared that citizens should be celebrating August 15, which was the date of his birthday as well as the Assumption of Mary.
The imperial decree declared August 15 (Napoleon’s date of birth) to be National Day. Bibliotheque nationale de France
The Restoration (1814-1830) Under the Restoration (1814-1830), the monarchy celebrated its kings on their namesake days: Louis XVIII (1814-1824) on August 25, and Charles X (1824-1830) on May 24.
The July Monarchy (1830-1848) under Louis-Philippe I celebrated the birth of the monarchy amid the blazing heat of ” Three Glorious Days” that ran from July 27-30, 1830.
The Second Republic (1848-1852) adopted May 4, which was the first session of the National Constituent Assembly in 1848. Another political regime that was newly established had a party celebration again.