Frequently Asked Questions
One of the first marking days of the French Revolution was July 14th 1789, when the people of Paris stormed the Bastille Fortress, on the eastern edge of the French capital. Nowadays, July 14 (or "Bastille Day" as it is also known) is celebrated with a mixture of solemn military parades and easygoing dancing and fireworks.
The Storming of the Bastille
Built at the end of the middle Ages, the Bastille was intended to be a key element in Parisian fortifications. However it very quickly
became a convenient place to imprison major political opponents and other criminals, though it never housed more than 45 prisoners at
the peak of its activity. It was staffed by invalid soldiers and a few Swiss guards.
Paris was in a state of high agitation in the early months of the French revolution. In spring 1789, the Estates-General refused to dissolve, transforming itself instead into a constituent National Assembly. In July, King Louis XVI called in fresh troops and dismissed his popular Minister, Necker. On the morning of July 14, the people of Paris seized weapons from the armory at the Invalides and then marched in the direction of an ancient royal fortress, the Bastille. After a bloody round of firing, the crowd broke into the Bastille and released the handful of prisoners held there.
The storming of the Bastille signaled the first victory of the people of Paris against a symbol of the Ancien Régime (old regime). Indeed, the edifice was razed to the ground in the months that followed. The following year, France having enacted it first constitution decided to have a big feast to commemorate the storming of the Bastille and the year of changes. The Federation Feast was intended to show the recreated unity of the kingdom around its King and its new ideals institutions. Though the spirit of July 14th 1790 died in the following months, it was long remembered as the last real moment of unity in France.
The national holiday
The commemoration of July 14 was abandoned in subsequent years. Under the Third Republic, however, leaders (Gambetta especially) cast
about for ways to celebrate the foundations of the regime. A Deputy for the Seine Department, Benjamin Raspail, moved that July 14 be
named the national holiday of the Republic, and Parliament passed an act to that effect on July 6, 1880, but not without long
hesitation between the two July 14th. Finally it was July 14th 1790 which was chosen, French representatives preferring to commemorate
the memory of national unity and recognition of the essential role of the monarchy in creating France instead of the bloody start of the Revolution.
The 14th of July today
Today, the festivities of July 14 are as popular as ever. In Paris, the traditional military parade on the
Champs-Elysées is a meticulously planned spectacle, and dancing and fireworks displays or special illuminations
are organized all over the country.
Successive Presidents of the Fifth Republic have modified the day's events slightly.
Restoring the tradition of revolutionary Paris, President Giscard d'Estaing re-routed the military parade, marching the troops from the Place de la Bastille to the Place de la République. In 1994, German soldiers serving in the Eurocorps took part in the parade on the Champs-Elysées, symbolizing the reconciliation between the two Nations.
Since the election of President Chirac, young people from all over France, as well as members of the armed forces, have been invited to attend the reception given after the parade in the grounds of the Elysée Palace.
Festàl
Bastille Day is part of Seattle Center's Festàl, a year-long series of world cultural events that honors the
richness and diversity of our region. Festàl plays a vital part of Seattle Center's role in connecting our
dynamic and varied community.
It is an occasion for the French community, modest but very dynamic, to make itself known and to invite everyone to discover its traditions and its culture while not forgetting its modern image.
Rendez-vous Dimanche 11 Juillet!
source: Elysée's website
What is the French National Anthem?
La Marseillaise, possibly the best-known national anthem in the world, is sung all over France. In fact, the anthem was not created in Marseille but in Strasbourg during the heat of the Revolution. General Kellermann, the head of the Army of the Rhine in 1792, asked Captain Rouget de Lisle, one of his officers who was a poet and musician in his spare time, to compose a battle march to be played as the soldiers were leaving for the front.
Although he was only given about 20 hours, Rouget de Lisle took a violin, locked himself in his room
and composed all night. The next day, the captain presented the new war song. There was great enthusiasm
among those present: The town attorney wept with emotion as young people waved their hats shouting
"Vive la France!". The following day, Rouget de Lisle's anthem was played in Strasbourg, where the crowd
proclaimed it a triumph. In Marseille, a student sang the martial verses at the end of a banquet that the
city was offering to 500 volunteers preparing to go to Paris.
The sans-culottes (the common people) found it so beautiful and stirring that they adopted it and sang it all along the road to Paris. When the Parisians saw them marching past and singing these words, they called it the "Marseillaise".
The French national anthem has had a turbulent past. Every now and then, there is an outcry to have it banned, or at least updated; it has been a long time since the Revolution was endangered by bordering European monarchs. Some people are offended during national ceremonies, when they hear such vengeful verses as "these ferocious soldiers who slaughter our sons and wives" or demanding "that impure blood flow in our fields." But the majority of French people do not wish to change so much as a comma in their national anthem. Didn't the members of the Resistance in WWII sing it as a final and supreme challenge to Nazi-occupying forces as they fell beneath the bullets of the firing squad?
The extent of the attachment of the French to their national anthem was revealed in the 1970s, when President Giscard d'Estaing attempted to impose "his" Marseillaise by having it played to a slower tempo in order to give it greater solemnity. The President's initiative raised a storm of protest and Hector Berlioz's orchestration was maintained.
Late controversial singer and composer Serge Gainsbourg tried to rewrite the Marseillaise his own way in 1979 by having the national anthem played by a reggae band. The reception was less than stellar: A group of legionnaires threatened to give him a hard time if he performed his new version in public. Gainsbourg did sing the Marseillaise, but a cappella. One cannot tamper with that which is sacred!
Hear la Marseillaise
Allons enfants de la Patrie
Le jour de gloire est arrivé!
Contre nous de la tyrannie
L'étendard sanglant est levé (bis)
Entendez-vous dans nos campagnes
Mugir ces féroces soldats?
Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras.
Égorger vos fils, vos compagnes!
Aux armes citoyens
Formez vos bataillons
Marchons, marchons
Qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons
source: Embassy of France in the U.S.
Who is organizing Bastille Day?
Bastille Day is organized by France Education Northwest in partnership with the Consular Agency of France in Seattle, the French-American Chamber of Commerce Pacific Northwest Pacific, the Alliance Française, the Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association, the French-American Schools (French-Immersion School of Washington, French American School of Puget Sound) and the Mercer Island-Thonon Les Bains Sister City Association.
You may participate in this event as sponsors, as volunteers or as visitors. If you wish to help with the celebration, please contact us.
Thanks to our sponsors, entry to the event is FREE!
What kind of Activities are there?
The festival has a cultural part with a stage dedicated to cultural and musical events, graphic and photographic exhibits as well as booths representing certain regions of France. The trade and economic section will consist of booths representing French companies in the area. And, of course, the magnificent cuisine of France will be available at a reasonable cost.
Do you have other questions that haven't been answered?
If so please e-mail us at consul@faccpnw.org
