Allons Enfants

On this day in 1789, Parisians stormed the Bastille Prison, marking the start of the French Revolution. The word "bastille" means "fortress." The Bastille had been built by Charles V around 1370 to guard the entrance into Paris. The prison was a rectangular building with eight round towers joined by plain walls about a hundred feet high. The structure was able to house forty-two prisoners. Entry was restricted to a single gateway protected by two bridges over the surrounding moat.

By 1789 the people of Paris had grown to hate the Bastille. It was expensive to run and had become a symbol of the arbitrary power of the regime. On this day, July 14th, 1789, an angry mob destroyed the prison with guns, cannons, fire and their bare hands. The Governor of the Bastille attempted to surrender, but the mob wouldn't accept it, and he was stabbed in the stomach with a bayonet as the mob poured through the gates. No guards were left alive, and the prisoners were released and carried through the streets of Paris along with the heads of those killed. Storm clouds had been gathering all day and rain fell in torrents that evening while Paris celebrated its victory. It was the beginning of the French Revolution.

Today is Bastille Day, France's most important national holiday, celebrated with a military parade on the Champs-Elysees and fireworks at the Trocadero. Every village in France holds its own celebration with champagne, street activities and dancing. The Writer's Almanac