Today is Bastille Day, – le 14 juillet in French – our National Day, the day when the French people attacked the Bastille in 1789, a prison-fortress in Paris. This act is a symbol of the Révolution Française against the absolute monarchy .
This day has always been important to me and I guess it is important to most of French people. I don’t go to the Champs Elysées because it is too crowded and you have to wait too long, but I never forget to watch the parade on TV. I’m not the kind of person who criticizes France excessively and I always try to remain proud of my nation, my mother country; the comments that some French people write about their own country on the Web are sometimes horrible! How can the others like you if you don’t like yourself? The more I travel, the more I realize that France is not so bad or at least, is not worse than the other countries!
This year, Bastille Day is a bit different because we have a new President, François Hollande. After the parade, he will give the traditional 14 Juillet interview that Nicolas Sarkozy, – the previous President -, had given up.
But I don’t want to talk about today but about Bastille Day 2009, when France invited the Indian Army to join the parade. I found two videos on the Internet. They sometimes say more than any post:
The following video is in French but it is nice; you can see the soldiers rehearsing on Raj Path because it looks a bit like the Champs Elysées. One of them brings encense in his suitcase because he does not know if he will find some in Paris. Others takes Indian biscuits and hot mix but are looking forwards to tasting French cheese.
Message to India
A Message To India 