Showing my French pride in this robe rouge from ShowPo. It may be an Australian brand, but today is France’s day.
Joyeux 14 Juillet! 🇫🇷 Today is France’s national day of independence. Also commonly known as Bastille Day, it’s very similar to the US national holiday, 4th of July.
This date commemorates the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille in 1789—a pivotal moment of the French Revolution when angry citizens rushed the government building, protesting the monarchy and an of abuse of power. As a result, it eventually led to Marie Antoinette and her husband King Louis XVI getting the guillotine, but that’s a story for another time.
The Storming of the Bastille, by artist Jean-Pierre Höuel.
The founding principles of Liberté Égalité and Fraternité (liberty, equality, and brotherhood) have since gone on to shape the institution of France’s government body and symbolize what it means to be French.
Never a people known to shy away from exercising their right to protest and expressing their (oft clashing) opinions, it’s important to note that many French citizens feel that these three basic tenets have been violated in recent times by sweeping government mandates, vaccine pressure, and strict lockdowns imposed as a result of the Covid crisis over the past year. Similar sentiments have also been echoed in the United States.
It may be another time of revolution, but also one of celebration, because as history tends to demonstrate, the two are often inextricably linked.
On a lighter note, I will be celebrating my French pride tonight at La Boheme in West Hollywood, where the annual festivities are being organized by French Tuesdays in partnership with L’Alliance Francaise and other members of the local Franco-American community here in Los Angeles.
It’s always one of my favorite events of the year, and includes music, dancing, champagne (and other assorted revelry) and even patriotic performances by traditional can-can dancers.
CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.
Bastille Day in Paris is always celebrated with a national parade down the Champs Elysees.