“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity!”
–the official slogan of the French Revolution.
Today is Bastille Day, France’s national holiday. On July 14, 1789, during the French Revolution, Parisians stormed the Bastille, a fortress and prison, in search of armaments with which to fortify themselves against the royalists.
The French celebrated throwing off the yoke of the royalists, and the establishment of the French Republic (what edition of the Republic are we in now, 5th?). There was a large military parade down the Champs-Elysees, and for once, the French army suffered no embarrassing defeats or surrenders.
While Bastille Day resembles the American Independence Day, it is but a façade. In truth, the French Revolution was a bloody reign of terror whereby the mob took out its ill-considered vengeance against the perceived enemies of the people. It lasted 10 years, murdering first the nobility and overthrowing the monarchy, before turning on itself, murdering the very people who initiated and led the Revolution. The entire affair ended with the establishment of a dictatorship, headed by a theretofore unknown soldier named Napoleon Bonaparte.
In the United States, approximately 20 cities celebrate Bastille Day. Long ago, a D.C. bistro, Les Halles (an offshoot of the now defunct New York City restaurant), held waiter races down Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, where waiters would run a course while balancing a tray containing a glass of wine in one hand, over their shoulder. The martinis were cold, and the steak tartare was delicious, making it tolerable to hang out with all the city’s Francophiles.
Berryville is not one of the 20 cities that celebrate Bastille Day. For that, I am grateful.
GFK
Observations From The Fifth Estate 