On 14 July, the French celebrate their country’s national day (Fête nationale française), also commonly known as “le quatorze juillet”. It marks the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, considered to be the flashpoint of the French Revolution, as well as the Fête de la Fédération (Festival of the Federation) celebrated on the same day one year later, in 1790. The latter was a mass gathering on the Champ-de-Mars in Paris with military parades, festivities, and royal speeches to honour the unity of the French people. It was designed to see in a new era in which a constitutional monarchy replaced absolutism.
Following various days of national celebration, each reflecting the spirit and political orientation of its time, in the spring of 1880 a motion was passed into law declaring 14 July the French national holiday. Despite its political roots, French national day is now a day when family and friends come together to celebrate, there are military parades on the Champs-Elysées, fireworks and popular dance events knows as “Bal des pompiers” (Firemen’s Ball).
If you want to join the celebrations and practise your interpreting skills on this occasion, why not take a look at the Speech Repository’s French language section.