France’s national celebration on 14 July is commonly called Bastille Day in English.
The date recalls the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison in Paris on 14 July 1789, a major early event of the French Revolution. It also commemorates the Fête de la Fédération held on 14 July 1790, which celebrated national unity. France’s official French name for the holiday is the fête nationale, meaning “national celebration.”
The day is marked by the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Élysées, public dances, concerts, communal meals, and fireworks. The Bastille itself was largely demolished soon after its capture, so the celebration centers on the revolutionary symbolism of the event rather than a surviving building. France adopted 14 July as its national holiday in 1880.