Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the
French National Day, which is celebrated on the 14th of July each year. In France, it is formally called
La Fête Nationale (la.fɛːt.na.sjɔˈnal
The National Celebration) and commonly
Le quatorze juillet (lə.ka.tɔʁz.ʒɥiˈjɛ
the fourteenth of July). It commemorates the 1790
Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the
storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the anniversary of the storming of the
Bastille fortress-prison was seen as a symbol of the uprising of the modern nation, and of the reconciliation of all the French inside the constitutional monarchy which preceded the
First Republic, during the
French Revolution. Festivities and official ceremonies are held all over France. The oldest and largest regular
military parade in Europe is held on the morning of 14 July, on the
Champs-Élysées avenue in
Paris in front of the
President of the Republic, French officials and foreign guests.