What do Bastille Day celebrate?
HOWEVER, the first Fete Nationale was actually held one year later – 14 July 1789, and was not a violent event, but rather a special celebration of the French government’s new constitution and establishment of democratic principles. The current Fete Nationale celebrates the 1790 date, not the storming of the Bastille per se. Thus the English term “Bastille Day” is not really accurate.
