Tomorrow 14th of July, France celebrates its National Day (The Bastille Day) which commemorates the beginning of the French Revolution with the Storming of the Bastille on 1789.

The 14th July has become a major public holiday that causes popular celebrations in the streets as well as political events.

In the morning of the 14th July, on the Champs Elysées in Paris, the Bastille Day is the opportunity to admire the French military. Saint Cyr and Polytechnique cadets parade, along with official troops, whilst the French Air Force, Patrouille de France, carry out flying in the sky.

A popular custom on the Basttille day in Paris is going for a friendly picnic in a public park, socialising and enjoying French food and wine before watching the fireworks from the Place de la Concorde.

Throughout its long history, France has produced many influential artists, thinkers, and scientists, and remains a prominent global center of culture. It hosts the world’s fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually. France remains a great power with significant cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world.

Patricia Fernandez Ruiz