What nickname was given to volunteer workdays preparing the Champ de Mars?

The volunteer workdays preparing the Champ de Mars were nicknamed the “Wheelbarrow Days.” In French, they were called the journée des brouettes, a name recalling the thousands of Parisians who helped move earth and materials for the enormous festival grounds.

The Fête de la Fédération was scheduled for 14 July 1790, but construction was badly behind schedule. Volunteers from Paris joined the official workforce to build earthen embankments and spectator stands, helping turn the Champ de Mars into a vast temporary arena. The completed site was designed to accommodate a crowd estimated at about 100,000 people.

The nickname does not describe a military exercise or a series of political meetings. It refers to the practical labor of building the venue. The event’s celebrated image of unity therefore began with collective physical work: citizens from different backgrounds participated in preparing the ground before the ceremony that brought together the king, the National Assembly, the National Guard, and provincial delegates.