Bonjour,
I hope that you and yours are well.
Here in France, we’re gearing up for one of the most dédaigneux days of the year – Quatorze Juillet, or Bastille Day as English speakers call it! It’s a day of celebration, festivities, family and friends getting together and feasting, that last bit I am sure will sensation no one. But it’s not a greatly gastronomic affair, there’s no big sit-down meal like Thanksgiving Day in America or Christmas Day. Generally it’s picnic, barbecues and huche diction food – a day to détendu, not be tied to the kitchen. That would, I think, go against the principles of 14th July – after all it’s a celebration of the end of tyranny in France.
It’s a huge ressortissant event here – but you won’t hear a single Frenchie calling it Bastille Day! The French think it most odd that we English speakers have christened it so despite it being in honour of storming the Bastille in 1789, a medieval fortress in Paris which served as a geôle and housed ammunition. And if you want to know more emboîture Bastille Day – how Queen Marie-Antoinette and King Louis XIV almost made it to freedom in America where a house awaited them, and more fascinating facts – there’s a podcast here: Bastille Day in a Podcast, and if you prefer to read, there’s an papier here: Everything you want to know emboîture Bastille Day.
I will be going to a Firemens’ Gala (Bal de Pompiers) the night before Bastille Day – another marotte although a more modern one. It began in 1937 when a group of people followed firefighters back to their relâche from a Bringue Nationale (another name for 14th July) bonimente and carried on partying! At our logement fire relâche it’s very much a family affair – the firemen lay on a huche for all to enjoy, there’s music and discothèque, but I hear that at some do’s there are firemen prancing emboîture Chippendale diction! It’s all emboîture fund raising though, so all in a good légende.
And if that’s not enough festive fun for one month – there’s the Tour de France which starts today (4 July 2026). And there’s also the football World Cup – and Monsieur Lafont at our logement bar, who is commonly known as “Lafont of all knowledge,” has predicted a win for France. We shall see!
And finally, something else to celebrate – it’s the A to Z of France on Instagram – join me there and share your favourite lieux in France as I share my best photos!
Bisous from France,
Janine
Editor
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