{"id":33886,"date":"2021-07-13T05:30:26","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T03:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=33886"},"modified":"2021-07-10T21:22:31","modified_gmt":"2021-07-10T19:22:31","slug":"bastille-day-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/bastille-day-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Bastille Day 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

After last year’s\u00a0quatorze juillet pas comme les autres<\/strong>1<\/a><\/sup>July 14th<\/em> (Bastille Day) unlike the others<\/em><\/span>, I was happy to see that this year’s festivities will see a return to more-or-less normal with des feux d\u2019artifice, les bals des pompiers, un d\u00e9fil\u00e9 militaire, [et un] concert sous la Tour Eiffel<\/strong>2<\/a><\/sup>fireworks, firemen’s balls, military parade, and a concert beneath the Eiffel Tower<\/em><\/span> … you can find all the details here<\/a>!<\/p>\n

\"\"

Photo by\u00a0Atypeek Dgn<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0from\u00a0Pexels<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Bastille Day 2021<\/h3>\n

A major part of any typical Bastille Day celebration in Paris is the d\u00e9fil\u00e9 militaire<\/strong> down the Champs-Elys\u00e9es. This military “<\/em>parade”<\/em> takes place on the ground \u2026 and in the air. This year’s air show will feature 71 planes and 25 helicopters<\/a> … a highlight of which is the participation of la Patrouille de France in their Alpha Jets.<\/p>\n

This “unit\u00e9 ultra populaire<\/strong>“3<\/a><\/sup>ultra popular (military) unit<\/em><\/span> – in existence since 1953 – opens the parade with des fumig\u00e8nes tricolores<\/strong> (smoke plumes in the colors of France – le bleu, blanc, rouge<\/strong>) and leads the other planes down the parade route (rising dramatically over the Arch de Triomphe at the top of the Champs-Elysees4<\/a><\/sup>When I lived in France, we could see the aircraft flying holding patterns in the skies over our town in the north-western suburbs of Paris, before heading out over the city!<\/span> and heading down to the Place de la Concorde). You can learn more in this brief video<\/a> from FranceInfo.<\/p>\n

If you were lucky enough to find yourself in Paris for this year’s celebrations, you could also enjoy a visit to the newly renovated Place de la Bastille. Like many of the city’s public spaces, the Place (whose first major ‘renovation’ kicked off the French Revolution!) has been redesigned to give more space to pedestrians and trees and less focus on cars. You can check out the new design here<\/a>.<\/div><\/p>\n

Les Sources de la Seine<\/h3>\n

I learned a fun fact in researching last week’s post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It turns out that some 300 km southwest of Paris in the Cote-d’Or department of Bourgogne, you can find a little bout de Paris<\/strong>5<\/a><\/sup>piece of Paris<\/em><\/span>. In 1864, the city of Paris purchased the lands surrounding the natural spring that give rise to the River Seine.<\/p>\n

The lands around the headwater serve as a park and protect the river.\u00a0 Enjoy this YouTube video<\/a> visit to see for yourself.<\/div><\/p>\n

Le Tour de France<\/h3>\n

The annual cycling race will wrap up this\u00a0samedi<\/strong>6<\/a><\/sup>Saturday<\/em><\/span> with the 112 km 21st \u00e9tape<\/b>7<\/a><\/sup>stage<\/em><\/span> from the\u00a0commune<\/a> de Chatou<\/a><\/strong> (\u00e0 l’ouest de Paris)<\/strong>8<\/a><\/sup>the community of Chatou (west of Paris)<\/span><\/em> to the Champs-Elys\u00e9es. Follow the action here<\/a>!<\/div><\/p>\n

French holidays: Bastille Day<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n