Bastille Day is the French national holiday which is celebrated on July 14th of each year. In France, it is called La Fête Nationale.  Some simply use the date “le quatorze juillet” when speaking of the holiday.  The celebration is still a major holiday as once was Memorial Day or the 4th of July in the United States.  No Bastille day would complete without a parade with marching bands, military cadets, aircraft, and speeches.  Everyone is out celebrating.

France in the late 1780s was ruled by a greedy and corrupt aristocracy. The country was nearing bankruptcy, the poor had little to no food (remember the “famous” line attributed to Marie Antoinette) and the growing bourgeoisie (middle-class) were growing increasingly  powerless. On July 14, 1789, a group of Parisians banned together and stormed the Bastille prison, releasing the seven prisoners inside. The march marked the beginning of the French Revolution. The lasting significance of this event was the recognition that power was not held by the King or God, but by the people. On July 16, King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette fled to Versailles for refuge.

On the 30th of June 1878, a fête was arranged in Paris to honor the French Republic, which was immortalized by Claude Monet in his painting Le Quatorze Juillet. In the debate leading up to instating the holiday, Henri Martin, chairman of the French Senate, his colleagues; “Do not forget that behind this 14 July, where victory of the new era over the ancien régime was bought by fighting, do not forget that after the day of 14 July 1789, there was the day of 14 July 1790. … This [latter] day cannot be blamed for having shed a drop of blood, for having divided the country. It was the consecration of the unity of France. On May  21, 1880, Benjamin Raspail proposed to have “the Republic choose the 14 July as a yearly national holiday”. The law was made official on July 4, 1880.  In 1848 the motto “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” was reinstated.

I remember my first Bastille Day celebration in Paris and looking in awe at the throngs of people both of French heritage and not.  Everyone was waving their flags singing and celebrating as the parades went by. The same can be said of my time in NYC in the Meat Packing District.  The street was shut down to traffic and the throngs of Manhattanites were lining the street or seating family style outside at tables watching jugglers, performers and drag queens dressed as Marie Antoinette.  The place was the now defunct Cafe Florent.  French food and wine seemed to be everywhere.

Below is a recipe to bring the “French out in you.” and is a popular picnic sandwich throughout France, especially on the Riviera where the olives and anchovies are divine.

Try the “Tartine de Provence”. It is great for a beach date, a picnic or wherever you will be.

serves 4

1 baguette

1 clove garlic, cut in half

14-16 pitted black olives, not ones you put on your fingers

1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks

8 oz/225g green string beans, blanched

2 tomatoes, cut into chunks

4 anchovy fillets

2 tbsp/30ml extra virgin olive oil

1 lemon, juiced

¼ tsp/1ml sea salt

¼ tsp/1ml ground black pepper

Cut the baguette in half lengthwise.  Rub the cut ends of the garlic over the cut side of the bread for a subtle garlic taste. Place the vegetables and anchovies in a food processor.  Pulse to combine (2-3 times) you want it still a bit chunky and not a soup. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl.  Add vegetables and toss to mix.  Spoon the mixture down one length of the bread.  Top with the other half.  Roll the sandwich up in wax paper or aluminum foil making sure to close the ends.  Weight the sandwich down with a board topped with large cans to compress everything together.  Leave it for about 1 hour to combine all the flavors.  Serve this with some really good rose wine.