Its Name Bastide Was Corrupted to Bastille
July 14, 2016 11:52 AM Subscribe
Parisian revolutionaries and mutinous troops storm and dismantle the Bastille, a royal fortress that had come to symbolize the tyranny of the Bourbon monarchs.
"This dramatic action signaled the beginning of the French Revolution, a decade of political turmoil and terror in which King Louis XVI was overthrown and tens of thousands of people, including the king and his wife Marie Antoinette, were executed."
Meanwhile, in 2016, Paris, still in a state of emergency following recent terrorist attacks, earlier today hosted a traditional little parade to celebrate the event.
Throughout the day there will be quiche, and lots of Parisian fire brigades host their own Fireman's Ball, and later, fireworks will shower over the Eiffel Tower.
"This dramatic action signaled the beginning of the French Revolution, a decade of political turmoil and terror in which King Louis XVI was overthrown and tens of thousands of people, including the king and his wife Marie Antoinette, were executed."
Meanwhile, in 2016, Paris, still in a state of emergency following recent terrorist attacks, earlier today hosted a traditional little parade to celebrate the event.
Throughout the day there will be quiche, and lots of Parisian fire brigades host their own Fireman's Ball, and later, fireworks will shower over the Eiffel Tower.
"Despite a thorough search, the revolutionaries discovered only seven prisoners in the Bastille, rather fewer than had been anticipated. Of these, only one – de Whyte de Malleville, an elderly and white-bearded man – closely resembled the public image of a Bastille prisoner; despite being mentally ill, he was paraded through the streets, where he waved happily to the crowds. Of the remaining six liberated prisoners, four were convicted forgers who quickly vanished into the Paris streets; one was the Count de Solages, who had been imprisoned on the request of his family for sexual misdemeanours; the sixth was Tavernier, who also proved to be mentally ill and, along with Whyte, was in due course reincarcerated in the Charenton asylum."
posted by Segundus at 12:49 PM on July 14, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by Segundus at 12:49 PM on July 14, 2016 [6 favorites]
FREEDOM FOR AMERICA FREEDOM FOR FRANCE
posted by mbrubeck at 12:54 PM on July 14, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by mbrubeck at 12:54 PM on July 14, 2016 [4 favorites]
oh hey I have leftover cake for MeFi's birthday we can use for this
posted by numaner at 1:10 PM on July 14, 2016
posted by numaner at 1:10 PM on July 14, 2016
Opera singer Jessye Norman performing La Marseillaise at the French bicentennial in 1989. Draped in an absolutely massive French tricoleur robe, carried around the Place de la Concorde.
posted by dnash at 1:19 PM on July 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by dnash at 1:19 PM on July 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
De Sade was also incarcerated there but was transferred to the Charenton asylum ten days prior to the storming.
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 1:22 PM on July 14, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Freelance Demiurge at 1:22 PM on July 14, 2016 [5 favorites]
Opera singer Jessye Norman . . . draped in an absolutely massive French tricoleur robe, carried around the Place de la Concorde.
Qui a volé la robe de la diva?
posted by The Bellman at 1:43 PM on July 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
Qui a volé la robe de la diva?
posted by The Bellman at 1:43 PM on July 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
I just escaped from the Bastille! Later I did some work for one of its most notorious former prisoners, the Marquis de Sade, who missed being freed by the storming after only 10 days. The video game Assassin's Creed: Unity had a lot of deserved negative reviews, but if you want to gallavant around a virtual reality Revolution-era Paris, it's not a pretty good option.
posted by Nelson at 1:47 PM on July 14, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 1:47 PM on July 14, 2016 [6 favorites]
This reminds me of one of my favorite anecdotes from when I was living in Paris:
I was walking through le Marais on a Saturday morning, and was approached by an older American couple who were clearly tourists (when I say "clearly tourists," I mean in the sense of cameras, fanny packs, shorts, neon baseball caps, etc.). I'm not sure why they approached me- perhaps they heard me say something in English, or perhaps I just looked like someone who might speak English. Anyway, they asked me if I knew where the Bastille was.
Somewhat confused, I replied that the Place de la Bastille was just a few blocks away, but the Bastille itself wasn't there, as it had been pulled down in 1789. They seemed a little disappointed to hear this, but continued on to ask me if that was where the old opera house was. I told them that there was an opera house in the Place de la Bastille, but it was relatively new, having been built in the late '80s. I suggested that they might be thinking of the Palais Garnier, on the other side of town (which is often associated with The Phantom of the Opera).
"Oh," they said, "Is that the one with all the tunnels underneath it?"
"This is Paris," I replied, "EVERYTHING HAS TUNNELS UNDERNEATH IT."
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 2:04 PM on July 14, 2016 [11 favorites]
I was walking through le Marais on a Saturday morning, and was approached by an older American couple who were clearly tourists (when I say "clearly tourists," I mean in the sense of cameras, fanny packs, shorts, neon baseball caps, etc.). I'm not sure why they approached me- perhaps they heard me say something in English, or perhaps I just looked like someone who might speak English. Anyway, they asked me if I knew where the Bastille was.
Somewhat confused, I replied that the Place de la Bastille was just a few blocks away, but the Bastille itself wasn't there, as it had been pulled down in 1789. They seemed a little disappointed to hear this, but continued on to ask me if that was where the old opera house was. I told them that there was an opera house in the Place de la Bastille, but it was relatively new, having been built in the late '80s. I suggested that they might be thinking of the Palais Garnier, on the other side of town (which is often associated with The Phantom of the Opera).
"Oh," they said, "Is that the one with all the tunnels underneath it?"
"This is Paris," I replied, "EVERYTHING HAS TUNNELS UNDERNEATH IT."
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 2:04 PM on July 14, 2016 [11 favorites]
Jesus wept! Tourists are the worst.
FIZZ WHO WORKS IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN NIAGARA FALLS: How may I help you?
TOURIST: What time do they turn off the falls?
FIZZ: *sighs* *at least once every god damn day*
posted by Fizz at 2:50 PM on July 14, 2016 [4 favorites]
FIZZ WHO WORKS IN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY IN NIAGARA FALLS: How may I help you?
TOURIST: What time do they turn off the falls?
FIZZ: *sighs* *at least once every god damn day*
posted by Fizz at 2:50 PM on July 14, 2016 [4 favorites]
SOME tourists are the worst. I am currently a tourist in Paris and I have behaving quite politely, thankyouverymuch.
I'm also staying in an Airbnb with a living room window view of the Paris skyline - I can see the Tower in the Place de Bastille, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower from my couch. I literally just picked MeFi up after watching the fireworks from my couch; even at this distance it was great.
I also noticed that in among the displays in red, white, and blue, there were a few sequences in rainbow colors; I am hoping that was a nod to LGBT Parisians, because that would be REALLY COOL if it were.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:50 PM on July 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
I'm also staying in an Airbnb with a living room window view of the Paris skyline - I can see the Tower in the Place de Bastille, Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower from my couch. I literally just picked MeFi up after watching the fireworks from my couch; even at this distance it was great.
I also noticed that in among the displays in red, white, and blue, there were a few sequences in rainbow colors; I am hoping that was a nod to LGBT Parisians, because that would be REALLY COOL if it were.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:50 PM on July 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
Oh, and also - I skipped the parade because I only dig parades if there are floats. I was at the Aligre Market instead, picking out some fruit and vegetables for while I'm here, and grooving on the "farmers' market meets Brooklyn Flea" vibe. The parade was a ways away - but the flight paths of the aircraft that did flyovers were all directly over us, and each time something flew overhead, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up, with faint "yeah, that's still cool" smiles. Except for one little girl who was totally flipping her shit, frantically tapping her father's knee and squealing "REGARDEZ!" to him each time she saw a new plane.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:02 PM on July 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:02 PM on July 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
crap this is horrible - truck hits dozens in nice
posted by pyramid termite at 3:03 PM on July 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by pyramid termite at 3:03 PM on July 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh god DAMMIT.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:04 PM on July 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:04 PM on July 14, 2016 [2 favorites]
What the everloving fucking fuck?
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 3:18 PM on July 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 3:18 PM on July 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
Usual warnings about breaking news reporting apply, but people on Twitter are saying that French media is reporting that 60 people have died. Fuck.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 3:28 PM on July 14, 2016
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 3:28 PM on July 14, 2016
On reflex, I accidentally typed "Be Safe Paris." and now all those horrible memories of the Paris attack came flooding back. Stay safe France.
.
posted by Fizz at 3:32 PM on July 14, 2016
.
posted by Fizz at 3:32 PM on July 14, 2016
.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 3:32 PM on July 14, 2016
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 3:32 PM on July 14, 2016
From The Guardian Live Feed:
The Nice prosecutor’s office is being quoted by the i-Télé TV channel that 60 people are now feared dead.posted by Fizz at 3:46 PM on July 14, 2016
A witness has told the Associated Press that he saw the truck driver emerge from the vehicle with a gun and start shooting after ploughing into the crowd.
Wassim Bouhlel, a Nice native who spoke to the agency near the city’s Promenade du Paillon, said: “There was carnage on the road. Bodies everywhere.”
Sebastien Humbert, the prefect for the Alpes-Maritime area has told BFM TV: “A truck rammed into the crowd over a long distance, which explains this extremely heavy toll.” According to Reuters, Humbert said the truck driver had been shot dead and that he was treating the incident as an attack at present.
On what should be a day of celebration, we're all crying. My heart goes out to you.
Liberté, égalité, fraternité. Maintenant et pour toujours.
posted by Sphinx at 4:04 PM on July 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
Liberté, égalité, fraternité. Maintenant et pour toujours.
posted by Sphinx at 4:04 PM on July 14, 2016 [1 favorite]
Here's a link to a new thread about the attack in Nice.
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:16 PM on July 14, 2016
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:16 PM on July 14, 2016
But... that's a link to this thread. You're blowing my mind right now.
posted by Justinian at 4:29 PM on July 14, 2016
posted by Justinian at 4:29 PM on July 14, 2016
Oops.
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:32 PM on July 14, 2016
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:32 PM on July 14, 2016
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posted by BrotherCaine at 12:25 PM on July 14, 2016 [6 favorites]