Bastille Day
Birthday of Modern France

By Toni Dabbs

France’s infamous Bastille was designed to protect the city of Paris during the Hundred Years’ War, a series of battles between England and France that actually lasted from 1337 until 1453. The four and a half story stone fortress was built between 1370 and 1383 beside the medieval city’s eastern main entrance of Porte Saint-Antoine, which provided the structure’s original name of Chastel Saint-Antoine.

After the war, the building served primarily as a palace and as a vault for the royal treasure until the 17th century, when Cardinal Richelieu began incarcerating political and religious prisoners there. As chief minister for Louis XIII (1610-1643), Richelieu became a virtual dictator, arbitrarily imprisoning people who he perceived as having committed treason or other offenses against the state.
These inmates came from France’s upper class and were treated reasonably well, being allowed to bring clothing, possessions and even servants with them. Nonetheless, they were confined without benefit of trial, arrested under a warrant known as the lettre de cachet issued by Richelieu under the king’s seal.

By the reign of Louis XV (1715-1774), the Bastille (or little bastion) also housed more common criminals, who were subjected to considerably worse treatment. Most were kept in small rooms in the building’s towers, but some were relegated to cachots, cramped and filthy subterranean cells.
When Louis XVI (1774-1792) came to the throne, the Bastille had become a hated symbol of the power of the French monarchy. Over the years, it held a variety of notable inmates, including satirist and historian Voltaire, alchemist Count Cagliostro, and novelist Marquis de Sade.

Count Cagliostro was imprisoned because he was believed to have been involved in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, a royal scandal connected to Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI. However, he was eventually acquitted of the charge.

During his stay at the Bastille, the Marquis de Sade shouted for help from the window of his cell, claiming "the prisoners were massacred." This earned him a transfer to the Charenton lunatic asylum on July 4, 1789, leaving only a handful of prisoners and a few guards at the fortress. The medieval structure was being closed down, because it was expensive to maintain and the government planned to demolish it.

Ten days later, the Bastille was stormed by a crowd of angry citizens armed with little more than farm tools but assisted by a mutinous detachment of National Guard soldiers. The prison guards surrendered and the inmates were freed. This event marked the beginning of the French Revolution (1789-1799), which ended the monarchy and led to the establishment of the Republic of France.
Since 1880, July 14 has been celebrated as Fete Nationale, France’s national holiday. Officially, it commemorates Fete de la Federation, an event held one year after the storming of the Bastille to recognize the change in government. However, in France and around the world, it is better known as Bastille Day.

Typically, festivities in Paris begin the night before, with dancing in Bastille Square and at parties in Fire Brigade stations and other locations around the city.
On the morning of July 14, crowds line the Champs-Elysees to watch military units march from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde. While jets fly in formation overhead, the president reviews the parading troops, which might include police units and even visiting regiments from other countries. Traditionally, the Paris Fire Brigade, which has military status in France, brings up the rear.

Family picnics are popular afternoon activities. Then at night, thousands of people gather on the Champ-de-Mars to watch fireworks at the Trocadero.

Today, little remains of the Bastille. Two days after it was stormed, orders were given to demolish the structure. Just a few foundation stones still can be seen at the Bastille subway station.