Bastille Day in the context of "Champs-Élysées"

The Storming of the Bastille (French: Prise de la Bastille [pʁiz də la bastij]), which occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, was an act of political violence by revolutionary insurgents who attempted to storm and seize control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. After four hours of fighting and 94 deaths, the insurgents were able to enter the Bastille. The governor of the Bastille, Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay, and several members of the garrison were killed after surrendering. At the time, the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. The prison contained only seven inmates at the time of its storming and was already scheduled for demolition but was seen by the revolutionaries as a symbol of the monarchy's abuse of power. Its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution.

In France, 14 July is a national holiday called Fête nationale française which commemorates both the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille and the Fête de la Fédération which occurred on its first anniversary in 1790. In English this holiday is commonly referred to as Bastille Day.

The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 January 1871, the conflict was caused primarily by France's determination to reassert its dominant position in continental Europe, which appeared in question following the decisive Prussian victory over Austria in 1866.

After a prince of the Roman Catholic branch Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen had been offered the vacant Spanish throne in 1870 and had withdrawn his acceptance, the French ambassador approached Prussian King Wilhelm I at his vacationing site in Ems demanding Prussia renounce any future claims, which Wilhelm rejected. The internal Ems dispatch reported this to Berlin on July 13; Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck quickly then made it public with altered wording. Thus the French newspapers for July 14, the French national holiday contained translations of Bismarck's press release, but not a report from their own ambassador. A crowd in the streets of Paris demanded war, and soon French mobilization was ordered.

An Independence Day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a military occupation, or after a major change in government. Many countries commemorate their independence from a colonial empire.

Not all countries mark independence as a national holiday. Many, such as Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Ireland, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey mark other dates of significance.

The École navale (French pronunciation: [ekɔl naval]) is the French naval academy, in charge of the education of the officers of the French Navy. They are educated at the academy for responsibilities onboard surface ships and submarines, in French Naval Aviation, with the fusiliers marins and commandos, and on the general staff. It is also an engineering school, delivering a full scientific and technical curriculum as part of its officer training.

The École navale and its research institute (IRENAV) are in Lanvéoc-Poulmic, south of the roadstead of Brest.

The National Police (French: Police nationale, pronounced [pɔlis nɑsjɔnal]), formerly known as the Sûreté nationale, is one of two national police forces of France, the other being the National Gendarmerie. The National Police is the country's main civil law enforcement agency, with primary jurisdiction in cities and large towns. By contrast, the National Gendarmerie has primary jurisdiction in smaller towns, as well as in rural and border areas. The National Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior and has about 145,200 employees (as of 2015). Young French citizens can fulfill their optional national service (Service national universel) in the national police force.

The national police force was created on 14 August 1941, under the Vichy regime, by a decree signed by the head of government, Philippe Pétain. This decree implements the law of 23 April 1941, creating the Police nationale: the forces of the Sûreté nationale (with the former services of the Sûreté générale, which became the Sûreté nationale in 1934, and the municipal police units, which became "étatisées" for the police forces of towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants) and the police services of the Préfecture de police in Paris are thus united. It was dissolved after the Liberation, by order of the Provisional Government of the French Republic on 16 November 1944. It was revived by Law no. 66-492 of 9 July 1966, on the organization of the police in France. This law unified the Sûreté Nationale and the Préfecture de Police.

At the 1900 Summer Olympics, twenty-three athletics events were contested. Altogether, 117 athletes from 15 nations competed. A total of 68 medals (23 gold, 23 silver, 22 bronze) were awarded. The 23 events listed are those currently considered to have been of Olympic stature by the International Olympic Committee and most Olympic historians. They exclude all events that used a handicap system, as well as all events which were open to professional athletes. The IOC has never decided which events were "Olympic" and which were not.

Competitions were held on 14 July, 15 July, 16 July, 19 July, and 22 July. This included Bastille Day, which is a French holiday, and then Sunday, which many of the American athletes protested. Even with many Americans not competing in finals because of confusion caused by the organizers' decision to count scores achieved on Monday, 16 July for finals held on Sunday, 15 July and subsequent rescission of that decision, the United States won more than 4 times as many medals as any other nation, including 16 of the 23 gold medals.

The Bastille Day military parade, also known as the 14 July military parade, translation of the French name of Défilé militaire du 14 juillet, is a French military parade that has been held on the morning of Bastille Day, 14 July, each year in Paris since 1880, almost without exception. The parade passes down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées from Place Charles de Gaulle, centred around the Arc de Triomphe, to the Place de la Concorde, where the President stands, along with members of the Government, figures from the legislative branch, the Mayor of Paris, as well as foreign ambassadors to France.

It is a popular event in France, broadcast live on television; it is also one of the oldest regular military parades in the world. In some years, invited detachments of foreign troops take part in the parade and foreign statesmen attend as guests. Smaller military parades are held in French garrison cities, most notably Marseille, Toulon, Brest, Rochefort, Belfort, and Nice.

The Place de la Nation (French pronunciation: [plas də la nɑsjɔ̃]; formerly the Place du Trône [- tʁon], subsequently the Place du Trône-Renversé [- ʁɑ̃vɛʁse] during the French Revolution) is a circle on the eastern side of Paris, between the Place de la Bastille and the Bois de Vincennes, on the border of the 11th and 12th arrondissements. Widely known for having the most active guillotines during the Revolution, the square acquired its current name on Bastille Day, 14 July 1880, under the Third Republic.

The square includes a large bronze sculpture by Aimé-Jules Dalou, the Triumph of the Republic, depicting the personification of France, Marianne, and is encircled by shops and a flower garden. It is served by the Paris Metro station Nation.