Don't panic! But you are about to learn about a dangerous time

period!

              

le quatorze juilletBastille Day

In France there is always a national holiday on 14 July. It is called Bastille Day.

The Bastille was a fortress prison in Paris. On July 14, 1789 it was stormed (broken into) by French citizens because they were fed up of being ruled by a monarchy (kings and queens). They were unhappy about the way their King Louis XVI ruled them so they overthrew him. This was called the French Revolution.

The French people wanted to rule for themselves and so from then on, France became a republic. (A republic is a form of government that puts the power to make decisions in the hands of its citizens).

The GuillotineThe guillotine was the

revolutions prime instrument of execution. Over 30,000 people were executed through this machine. They included priests, the king and queen, and even Robespierre and some of his best friends. Executions were a public event: almost like the fights in the gladiators in the Colessium in Rome. During the Great Terror people could even be arrested for not showing a lot of excitement for it.

Robespierre is probably the most well-known leader of the French Revolution. He was nicknamed the "Incorruptible" because of his loyalty to the revolution. He was the most powerful man in France and the leader of the Reign of Terror, who made a list of all the people they wanted to execute. His life ended with his execution in 1794.

Robespierre

At the time of the revolution, King Louis XVI ruled France. In revolutionary France the King was tried for crimes against the people. According to the rules of the new French Republic He was guilty, and was executed. France had done the unthinkable and murdered their King!

King Louis XVI

Marie-AntoinetteMarie-Antoinette was the Queen at the time of the Revolution. After the death of her husband Marie experienced many changes. She was no longer a rich queen but a prisoner of the Republic.  Her son was taken away from her and was raised by the prison. He later died when he was only 10 years old. She died at the guillotine.

Above all, Bastille Day, or the Fourteenth of July, is the symbol of the end of the monarchy and the beginning of the Republic.

The national holiday is a time when all citizens celebrate their membership to a republican nation.

It is because this national holiday is rooted in the history of the birth of the Republic that it has such great significance.

To everyone in France, Bastille Day today represents the solemn military parade up the Champs Elysées, in Paris, in the presence of the head of state, the President of the Republic.

The Champs-Élysées decorated with flags for the 14 July.

It is also a holiday on which each commune holds a local dance and fireworks.

The blue, white, and red French flag took shape during the French Revolution. The three colours represent the Republic's three ideals: égalité, fraternité et liberté (equality, fraternity and liberty).

Tricolore – the French Flag

Did you know ????

The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Bastille Day!