Guestling Bradshaw CE Primary School

One of the most important dates in France is the 14th July.  In French, it is called le quatorze juillet or la Fête Nationale. Every year France celebrates the moment when the angry people of Paris broke into the prison and set the prisoners free.  This event is called 'the storming of the Bastille'. It happened on 14 July 1789. It was the beginning of what became known as the French Revolution.

A long time ago, there was a prison in Paris called Bastille Saint-Antoine. The poor people had always hated the Bastille. Too many poor people had been imprisoned there without having a fair trial. The rich people had all the power and could do anything they liked.  It just wasn't fair!  And the poor people were suffering from terrible hunger. There wasn't enough food to go around, yet the King of France and his family and friends were all having a luxurious life, eating too much and spending enormous amounts of money on clothes, jewels and everything that they wanted. Anyone who complained was thrown into prison or even executed without trial.

The poor people of Paris decided that things had to change. They were going to teach the greedy and selfish rich people a lesson. On 14th July 1789, they invaded the building and released the prisoners. Then they stole the weapons stored inside the prison. The Bastille was a symbol of oppression and injustice. By destroying it, the poor people felt that they were destroying the unfair rules that they hated so much. 

In fact, after the storming of the Bastille, people made bracelets and brooches from the old stones of the fallen prison!  They also wore buckles and hats in the shape of the towers of the destroyed Bastille. These fashions were known as à la Bastille and by wearing them the people were declaring that they had found freedom and justice. People also began to wear the blue, white and red colours of the tricolour flag.

The poor people were now in charge!  Eventually, the king and queen of France and their friends and relatives were arrested. Now the royal family and their rich friends were in prison. Later, the king and queen were executed. Anyone who was a friend or supporter of the royal family was also executed as an enemy of the French people.

The guillotine was the method of execution developed during the French Revolution. It was invented with the help of surgeon, Dr Guillotin. In Paris, it was used regularly in an area called La Place de la Révolution.

Even after the king and queen had died, the violence continued, with fighting between rival groups trying to take power. It is thought that during this 'Reign of Terror' around 40,000 people were killed.

Order was eventually restored by a soldier named Napoleon Bonaparte. Power passed to a five-man group called the Directory, and by 1799 Napoleon had seized power for himself. The revolution was over.

During the French Revolution, the King of France was Louis XVI. His queen was Marie-Antoinette and she was an Austrian Duchess. She was only fourteen years old when she married Louis. In the picture above, she was just twelve years old!

At first, it must have been very frightening for Marie-Antoinette to leave her family in Austria; she was just a young teenager who had to live in a foreign country with her new husband and people who were complete strangers. They lived in the magnificent palace of Versailles. 

At the time of the storming of the Bastille, Marie-Antoinette was thirty-four years old and had three children. While people were starving in the streets. and she was told that people had no bread to eat, Marie Antoinette is said to have exclaimed, "Let them eat cake." She probably didn't actually say that, but this remark has come to represent the king and queen's lack of sympathy for their subjects.

Every year on the 14th July, France remembers the brave people who fought for freedom and justice for everybody in French society.  As a result of their bravery, the selfish monarchy was abolished and everybody, no matter how poor, was given importance and rights.  That is why the motto of France is Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, (Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood). The woman in the image above is called Marianne.  She is the French symbol of liberty.

The first Bastille Day celebrations took place on 14 July, 1790, on the very first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille. This first celebration took place on the ground where the Eiffel Tower now stands.

People have the day off work because it is an official holiday.  It is a great time for children and families. Just like people in the USA on 4th July, people in France celebrate on 14th July with parades and fireworks. A big military parade (the oldest and largest regular parade in Europe) takes place along the Champs-Elysées in Paris. The President gives a speech about recent events and projects for the future. The Constitution of France still gives him the right to pardon criminals on this day. 

The Eiffel Tower was built to celebrate the 100th anniversary Bastille Day in 1889. To celebrate the 200th anniversary in 1989, a big glass pyramid was built outside the Louvre Museum. What do you think will be built in 2089 to celebrate the 300th anniversary?