The 14th of July is Bastille Day, celebrating the storming of the Bastille in 1789, and marking the outbreak of the French Revolution.
The Bastille was a formidable fortress-prison located in Paris, originally constructed in the 14th century to defend the eastern approach to the city. By the late 18th century, it had become a symbol of royal tyranny, often used to detain political prisoners without trial under the king’s arbitrary authority, known as lettres de cachet. At the time of the storming, however, the Bastille held only seven inmates, but its significance lay not in the number of prisoners, but in what it represented—oppression, despotism, and the absolute power of the monarchy.
In the summer of 1789, France was gripped by widespread discontent due to economic hardship, food shortages, and the heavy burden of taxation on the common people. The situation was further inflamed by the dismissal of the popular finance minister, Jacques Necker, who was sympathetic to the reformist cause. This act by King Louis XVI fuelled public outrage and led to mass demonstrations throughout Paris.
On the 14th of July thousands of Parisians, armed with makeshift weapons and driven by a collective desire for change, gathered around the Bastille. Their objective was to seize gunpowder and arms stored within the fortress to support the burgeoning revolution. Negotiations with the prison’s governor, Bernard-René de Launay, quickly deteriorated, and the crowd, spurred by growing impatience and fear of royal retaliation, launched an assault.
After several hours of fierce fighting, involving sporadic gunfire and heavy casualties on both sides, the defenders of the Bastille, comprising a small garrison of Swiss mercenaries and French soldiers, capitulated. Governor de Launay was captured and, despite his pleas for mercy, was brutally lynched by the mob. The fall of the Bastille sent shockwaves throughout France and beyond, signalling the collapse of royal authority and the power of the people to challenge it.
The storming of the Bastille held immense symbolic value. While militarily insignificant, it represented the triumph of liberty over oppression and the collective will of the populace to demand justice and equality. In the aftermath, revolutionary fervour spread across France, leading to the abolition of feudal privileges and the eventual establishment of the French Republic.
Today, Bastille Day is celebrated with grandeur, including military parades on the Champs-Élysées, fireworks, and public festivities. It serves as a powerful reminder of the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity that continue to shape French national identity and inspire democratic movements worldwide.