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(Bastille Day parade held on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France) 

July 14th is Bastille Day, or Fête Nationale ("National Celebration")  in France. 

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 are held on the morning of July 14th, with a parade on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris in front of the President of the Republic. Currently, le Tour de France  (an annual 23-day bicycle race that covers around 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi)) is underway throughout France.

In America, we celebrate our Independence Day with cookouts, parades, and fireworks.  How did you celebrate?

 


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