Transcript Bastille Day – le quatorze juillet 1789

Bastille Day –
le quatorze juillet 1789
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Bastille Day is France's national holiday
(declared on 6th July when the new
republic was established.
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It commemorates the storming of the
former high-security prison (the Bastille)
and the uprising and storming of the
prison that marked the beginning of the
French Revolution.
 King Louis XVI reigned with his queen Marie-
Antoinette at the time of the revolution
 King Louis XVI was also known as the sun king (le Roi
Soleil) due to his idea that, just as the planets revolve
around the Sun, so too should France and the court
revolve around him!
 The King and Queen and the Upper Class (royalty and
nobles) enjoyed a life of luxury while the peasants paid
high taxes to fund these luxuries.
LES CHÂTEAUX (CASTLES)
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Many castles were already established in France from previous
Kings
Le château de Versailles already existed and King Louis XVI was
crowned and Versailles became his main residence. Thus, Versailles
was the centre of power in France during his reign.
King Louis XVI expanded on this palace lavishly (enjoying expensive
taste!)
Versailles: Take a visit of the magnificent castle at
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http://www.chateauversailles.fr/en/110_Construction.php
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Versailles Estate Map:
During King Louis XVI’s
reign...
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The peasants paid high-taxes to fund the
royals luxuries and unfortunately they could
not express themselves politically under the
monarchy.
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The Guillotine was used regularly to carry
out executions of ‘criminals.’
FURTHER CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION:
France had the largest population in Europe and
not enough food to feed it.
 Wealthy and growing Bourgeoisie (the middle
class) had no political input or power.
 The poor were POOR and it was getting worse
 The country was nearing bankruptcy.
 The people started to demand a constitution for
their country
 When King Louis XVI and his queen tried to quiet
the unrest, the people rebelled

‘LET THEM EAT CAKE!’
 Qu’ils mangent de la brioche!
 It is still the common belief that these are the insensitive
words that Queen Marie-Antoinette uttered on the eve of
the Revolution – a reply to the peasants complaints that
there was not enough bread to go around.
 This is a mistranslation as:
Qu’ils mangent de la brioche =
Let them eat brioche
(rich, expensive, unusually-shaped, yellow, eggy
buns).
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Is a highly enriched French bread
High egg and butter content
= rich,
sweet, tender crumb
Dark, golden and flaky crust
Brioche was enjoyed more by the Upper Class
Today French people eat this sweet-tasting
bread probably once a week, during the
weekend, usually Sunday.
 July 14th 1789, the masses banded together and stormed the Bastille
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prison.
The Bastille was a prison fortress in the centre of Paris
It was a symbol of the King’s absolute and arbitrary power (the
corrupt political system).
Used by the King to get rid of all the people who he thought were
against him – without accusation or trial!
By capturing this symbol, the people signalled that the king's
power was no longer absolute.
It only held seven prisoners at the time of its capture.
The storming of the prison was a symbol of liberty and the fight
against oppression for all French citizens
The French citizens destroyed the Bastille after they attacked and
captured it.
King Louis and Queen Marie-Antoinette tried to escape, however
they were eventually captured and executed.
What was the significance for the
French?
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It was the beginning of the
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It marked the end of absolute monarchy and the birth of
a sovereign nation
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It established France as a nation of liberty - the first time
in the world that people had claimed their right to selfdetermination.
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And eventually in 1792 the Republic was created (the
first in the world)
The French national anthem also dates back to
this era:
La Marseillaise was written in 1792
And declared the French
national anthem in 1795.
Allons enfants de la patrie,
Le jour de gloire est arrivé !
Contre nous de la tyrannie
L'étendard sanglant est levé ! (bis)
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes,
Mugir ces féroces soldats ?
Ils viennent jusque dans nos bras
Égorger nos fils, nos compagnes !
Refrain
Aux armes, citoyens !
Formez vos bataillons !
Marchons ! Marchons !
Qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons !
Let's go children of the fatherland,
The day of glory has arrived!
Against us tyranny's
Bloody flag is raised! (repeat)
In the countryside, do you hear
The roaring of these fierce soldiers?
They come right to our arms
To slit the throats of our sons, our friends!
Refrain
Grab your weapons, citizens!
Form your batallions!
Let us march! Let us march!
May impure blood
Water our fields!
The French flag dates to this era:
le tricolore – bleu, blanc, rouge
• The French National Convention adopted the Tricolour as it’s
national flag on 4th February 1794
• Le Tricolore has been a symbol of liberty around the world
since the Revolution as the three colours are associated with
liberty, equality, and fraternity (the French motto).
• It is 50% wider than its height
• Originally the white band was slightly thinner as
against the red and blue it would be brighter and
seem disproportionate to the human eye.
thus
Le Tricolore –
the meaning behind the colours
Blue and Red are the colours of the arms of
the coats that the revolutionaries wore on the
day of the storming of the Bastille and they are
also the colours from the city Paris.
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White is the colour of the monarchy/royalty
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To symbolise the national unity, the white (monarchy)
was placed between the two colours symbolising the
city of Paris.
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Thus it represented the unity of the monarch and the
people.
Le TRICOLORE –
the other theories to the meaning behind the colours
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Some say the colours represent the 3 main estates of the Ancien
Régime:
White = the clergy
Red = the nobility
Blue = the bourgeoisie.
Both extreme colours are on either side of white referring to a superior
order.
or............
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Blue = the colour of Saint Martin, a rich Gallo-Roman officer who ripped
his blue coat with his sword to give ½ of it to a poor person begging in
the snow. This symbolised care, the duty the rich had to help the poor
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White = the colour of the Virgin Mary (Kingdom of France was
consecrated to her by King Louis XIII. Also the colour of Joan of Arc
who, under this banner, drove the English out of the Kingdom. Thus it
became the colour of Royalty.
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Red = the colour of Saint Denis, the saint patron of Paris.
The French motto originated from this era:
Liberté, Egalité, et Fraternité
 This motto first appeared during the Revolution and was written into the 1958
Constitution and is now a part of French national heritage, found on coins and postage
stamps.
 From 1793 onwards, Parisians began the trend by painting the following words on the
façades of their houses: ‘
Unity, indivisibility of the Republic; liberty, equality or death.’
They were soon asked to erase the final part of the phrase as it was too closely
associated with terror ....
 Not everyone agreed with the motto:
- Partisans of the Republic believed that solidarity was better than equality and thus a
levelling of society was needed.
- Not everyone accepted the Christian connotation of fraternity.
The storming of the Bastille was a symbol of freedom which
the French celebrate to this day.
(Le 13 et) 14 juillet = Bastille Day .....
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The evening before the day is spent dancing in the Bastille
square and at numerous balls organised around Paris.
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The 14th July is a national holiday so no work!
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The world’s biggest picnic is held in front of the Eiffel Tower.
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Crowds line the Champs-Elysées to watch the military parade
which is led by the President, accompanied overhead by jets in
formation, which marches from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place
de la Concorde.
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Thousands gather at the Champ-de-Mars later in the evening to
watch the fireworks at the Trocadéro (fireworks off the Eiffel
Tower)
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There are galas, fairs, markets and street fun in all villages and
towns in France, not just Paris.
les feux d’artifice
- la tour eiffel
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDgTuEil4-c
-Fireworks in general 2006
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq6FZENAS9w&feature=related
– Fireworks Eiffel Tower 2007
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU-crxOLRes&feature=related
– Fireworks Eiffel Tower 2007
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XepDY4TgDM&feature=related
– Fireworks Eiffel Tower 2007