While in France it is known as the Fête Nationale (National Celebration), for most of the world July 14 is known as Bastille Day, a day for Francophiles to wear their love of that country proudly on their sleeves. Bastille Day commemorates the 1790 celebration of the Fête de la Fédération (Feast of the Federation), an assembly held on the outskirts of Paris, at the Champs de Mars (now well within the city and the site of the Eiffel Tower), to commemorate the storming of the Bastille the year before, on July 14, 1789.

The attack on the Bastille fortress-prison, though perhaps not an incredible military coup at the time, did provide the flashpoint for what would eventually become the French Revolution. The prison was seen as a symbol of monarchical authority; it was used as the holding place for political prisoners whose writings had displeased the royalty as well as lettres de cachet, arbitrary royal indictments that were beyond appeal (though at the time of the attack, there were only seven prisoners held inside, none of them of great political importance). It also held a large stock of ammunition and gunpowder, so it provided both a practical and ideological target for the emerging rebellion.

Today, Bastille Day marks a day of celebrations for the entire country, with its epicenter in the city of Paris, where festivities are held throughout the day, starting with a grandiose parade down the Champs Élysées, and culminating with stunning fireworks displays throughout the city and most notably at the iconic Eiffel Tower. Even in the days leading to and after, the city is dressed up in its finest (for example, a gigantic flag is hung inside the Arc de Triomphe). It is certainly a crowded time to be in Paris, but it is also an exciting time to see this proud culture celebrate their history and their nation.

In Your Game

The storming of the Bastille turned out to be the key event in the start of the French Revolution, which ended up toppling the monarchy and (after years of turmoil and further wars) forming the modern nation of France. Most fantasy medieval campaign worlds are based around kingdoms, so how about starting a revolution? The storming of the Bastille can provide a GM with the perfect starting point for a new campaign that follows the player characters as they live through (and become key figures of?) a monarchy-toppling revolution. Or maybe the characters are assigned to protect the fortress from the rebel forces; do they fight their countrymen or disobey their monarch? Perhaps the characters are far-off witnesses of the attack but then find their world upturned by the aftereffects of such a defiance against the crown. The attack on the Bastille was a world-shaking event, so you can use it as inspiration, and the kickstart, for any major change you want to enact in your campaign world.