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Bastille Day, Paris


 Bastille Day, La Fete Nationale, is celebrated each year on the fourteenth of July.  It commemorates the July 14, 1789, storming of the Bastille, a prison, and a symbol of the absolute power of Louis XVI's regime.  By capturing this symbol the people signaled that the king's power was absolute; it was a turning point in the French Revolution.  

My husband and I were in Paris for the festivities a couple of years ago, and really got to see the city in a different light.  First of all, there is this nice excitement in the air, the city is decorated with blue, white and red flags, most shops are closed, and families are out enjoying the day.

A fun tradition that takes place on July 13th and 14th, are Bals des Pompiers, parties organized by firemen at fire stations around Paris.  Sometimes a small admission fee is charged, or a donation into a barrel is appreciated.  Parisinfo.com has a list of the fire stations, which participate in the event. 

    

 A few days prior to the 14th, various planes, jets, and helicopters, do practice flights around Paris.  This is a real treat, everyone stops what they are doing and looks up to the sky.  These photos were taken during the parade and the practice flights before July the 14th. 



Due to my extremely limited knowledge in this department I can only distinguish that what is flying above me is an airplane or a helicopter, I had to rely on my husband, a real renaissance man who knows a whole lot about everything.  So, according to him we saw the best toys of the French Air Force and navy, including the Boeing E3-F awacs, with its giant spinning radar dome, the Hercules transport plane, the Airbus A400M Atlas turboprop transport plane, the cutting edge Dassault Rafale C fighter, and the crowd favorite, the Alpha Jet of Patrouille de France, the famous aerobatic team, streaming red, white and blue smoke. 








 
 The morning of July 14th, a festive parade goes down Avenue des Champs-Elysees.  The avenue is closed all morning, and at some point during the morning access to that area is very limited.  We wanted to cross from the sixth arrondissement via the Pont de la Concorde, but were redirected all the way to Pont de L'Alma.  Due to many street and metro closures we ended up walking over 23,000 steps!  My Fitbit was pleased with me, finally. 







Former President Hollande.











  
For the future, I would stand much closer to Place de la Concorde, one gets to see much more since different groups walk onto Champs-Elysee from side streets.  We were higher up, and did not see the groups which joined the parade below us.  It was still a whole lot of fun, and I would recommend a visit to Paris for Bastille Day.


At the end of the parade I found myself chatting with a very nice soldier who offered to take a photo of the empty Champs-Elysees with my camera.  How gorgeous are these shots?  I was so thrilled and appreciative. 







 It was fun to see some of the parade participants at the Luxembourg Garden or the streets of Paris.



The most beautiful even takes place in the evening.
We were part of a large crowd gathered on Champ de Mars for the Eiffel Tower fireworks. 
Just magnificent!



















Joanna


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