Festivals, Holidays, and Celebrations in France

Beside Christmas and New Year’s Eve, one of the most important French holidays, especially for Parisians is the 14th of July. On this day, the French remember the event that began the French revolution. The event was the taking of the Bastille (14th July 1789). The Bastille was a very big prison in downtown Paris where political prisoners (mostly people that were opposing the king and his power) where kept. Following months of political crisis the citizens of Paris entered the Bastille and freed the prisoners. As mentioned, this is considered the beginning of the French revolution, a few months after this event King Louis XVI and the Queen, Maria Antoinette were arrested and the Republic was proclaimed. During this time the French national Song La Marseillaise (the song from Marseille) was composed and the motto ` Liberté, Fraternité and Egalité´ (Freedom, Brotherhood, Equality) become famous all around the world. Still today, people have a party in the street to commemorate the event and a big parade is organized every year in Paris.

http://dinolingo.com/blog/2011/05/04/french-culture/#.WDyHQjMrLnA