One that has been reported as "the oldest and largest military parade in Europe"[5] is held on 14 July on the Champs-Élysées in Paris in front of the President of France, along with other French officials and foreign guests.

On 11 July, Jacques Necker, the finance minister of Louis XVI, who was sympathetic to the Third Estate, was dismissed by the King, provoking an angry reaction among Parisians.

Crowds formed, fearful of an attack by the royal army or by foreign regiments of mercenaries in the King's service and seeking to arm themselves.

Early on 14 July, a crowd besieged the Hôtel des Invalides for firearms, muskets, and cannons stored in its cellars.

[8] That same day, another crowd stormed the Bastille, a fortress-prison in Paris that had historically held people jailed on the basis of lettres de cachet (literally "signet letters"), arbitrary royal indictments that could not be appealed and did not indicate the reason for the imprisonment, and was believed to hold a cache of ammunition and gunpowder.

[9] The crowd was eventually reinforced by the mutinous Régiment des Gardes Françaises ("Regiment of French Guards"), whose usual role was to protect public buildings.

They proved a fair match for the fort's defenders, and Governor de Launay, the commander of the Bastille, capitulated and opened the gates to avoid a mutual massacre.

[10] Shortly after the storming of the Bastille, late in the evening of 4 August, after a very stormy session of the Assemblée constituante, feudalism was abolished.

On 26 August, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (Déclaration des Droits de l'Homme et du Citoyen) was proclaimed.

[13] There were other proposals and unofficial celebrations of 14 July 1789, but the official festival sponsored by the National Assembly was called the Fête de la Fédération.

The work needed to transform the Champ de Mars into a suitable location for the celebration was not on schedule to be completed in time.

[15] The day of the festival, the National Guard assembled and proceeded along the boulevard du Temple in the pouring rain, and were met by an estimated 260,000 Parisian citizens at the Champ de Mars.

[17] On 30 June 1878, a feast was officially arranged in Paris to honour the French Republic (the event was commemorated in a painting by Claude Monet).

The day's events included a reception in the Chamber of Deputies, organised and presided over by Léon Gambetta[19] (a military reviewer at Longchamp), and a Republican Feast in the Pré Catelan.

[22] On 21 May 1880, Benjamin Raspail proposed a law, signed by sixty-four members of government, to have "the Republic adopt 14 July as the day of an annual national festival".

This is a popular event in France, broadcast on French TV, and is the oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe.

[6][7] Smaller military parades are held in French garrison towns, including Toulon and Belfort, with local troops.

Traditional selections of French produce, including cheese, wine, meat, bread and pastries, are provided by the market.

Restaurants feature cabarets and special menus across the city, and other celebrations include garden parties and sports tournaments.

There is also a large event at the Bankside and Borough Market, where there is live music, street performers, and traditional French games played.

[52]) In Newport, Rhode Island, the annual Bastille Day celebration is organized by the local chapter of the Alliance Française.

Their assistance in the defeat of the English in the War of Independence is well documented and is proof of the special relationship between France and the United States.

[57] Chicago, Illinois, has hosted a variety of Bastille Day celebrations in a number of locations in the city, including Navy Pier and Oz Park.

[59] Minneapolis, Minnesota, has a celebration with wine, French food, pastries, a flea market, circus performers and bands.

The Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion in the Benton Park neighborhood, holds an annual Bastille Day festival with reenactments of the beheading of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, traditional dancing, and artillery demonstrations.

[63] The Soulard neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri celebrates its unique French heritage with special events including a parade, which honors the peasants who rejected the monarchy.

[66] Sacramento, California, conducts annual "waiter races" in the midtown restaurant and shopping district, with a street festival.