Bastille Day

Bastille Day is the name given in English-speaking countries to the French National Day, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In France, it is formally called La Fête nationale (French pronunciation: ​[la fɛːt nasjɔnal]; The National Celebration) and commonly Le quatorze juillet (French pronunciation: ​[lə katɔʁz(ə) ʒɥijɛ]; the fourteenth of July).

The French National Day commemorates the Storming of the Bastille on July 14 1789, an important event in Paris in a violent revolution that had begun two days earlier, as well as the Fête de la Fédération which celebrated the unity of the French people on 14 July 1790. Celebrations are held throughout France. The oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe is held on the morning of 14 July, on the Champs-Élysées in Paris in front of the President of the Republic, along with other French officials and foreign guests.

History

Storming of the Bastille

On 19 May 1789, Louis XVI invited Estates-General (les États-généraux) to air their grievances. The deputies of the Third Estate (le Tiers État), representing the common people (the two others were the Catholic clergy (clergé, Roman Catholicism being the state religion at that time) and the nobility (noblesse)), decided to break away and form a National Assembly. The Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath (le serment du Jeu de paume, 20 June 1789), swearing not to separate until a constitution had been established. They were gradually joined by (liberal) delegates of the other estates; Louis XVI started to recognize the validity of their concerns. on 27 June. The assembly renamed itself the National Constituent Assembly (Assemblée nationale constituante) on 9 July, and began to function as a legislature and to draft a constitution.

Bastille

The Bastille (French pronunciation: ​[bastij]) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a crowd on 14 July 1789 in the French Revolution, becoming an important symbol for the French Republican movement, and was later demolished and replaced by the Place de la Bastille.

The Bastille was built to defend the eastern approach to the city of Paris from the English threat in the Hundred Years' War. Initial work began in 1357, but the main construction occurred from 1370 onwards, creating a strong fortress with eight towers that protected the strategic gateway of the Porte Saint-Antoine on the eastern edge of Paris. The innovative design proved influential in both France and England and was widely copied. The Bastille figured prominently in France's domestic conflicts, including the fighting between the rival factions of the Burgundians and the Armagnacs in the 15th century, and the Wars of Religion in the 16th. The fortress was declared a state prison in 1417; this role was expanded first under the English occupiers of the 1420s and 1430s, and then under Louis XI in the 1460s. The defences of the Bastille were fortified in response to the English and Imperial threat during the 1550s, with a bastion constructed to the east of the fortress. The Bastille played a key role in the rebellion of the Fronde and the battle of the faubourg Saint-Antoine, which was fought beneath its walls in 1652.

Idris Elba

Idrissa Akuna "Idris" Elba, OBE (/ˈɪdrəs ˈɛlbə/; born 6 September 1972) is a British actor, musician, and DJ. He is best known for his portrayal of drug lord and aspiring businessman Russell "Stringer" Bell in the HBO series The Wire, Detective John Luther in the BBC One series Luther, and Nelson Mandela in the 2013 biographical film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. He has been nominated five times for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film, winning one, as well being nominated four times for a Primetime Emmy Award.

Elba has appeared in films such as American Gangster (2007), Takers (2010), Thor (2011), Prometheus (2012), Pacific Rim (2013), Thor: The Dark World (2013), and Beasts of No Nation (2015). In addition to his acting work, he is a DJ under the moniker DJ Big Driis (or Big Driis the Londoner) and hip hop soul musician.

Early life

Elba was born in Newham, London. His father, Winston, was a Sierra Leonean who worked in a Dagenham Ford motor factory, and his mother, Eve, was a Ghanaian who had a clerical job. Elba's parents married in Sierra Leone and moved to London. Elba was raised in East Ham and shortened his first name from Idrissa to Idris at school in Canning Town, where he first became involved in acting. He credits The Stage with giving him his first big break; having seen an advertisement for a play in the newspaper, Elba auditioned and met his first agent while performing in the role. In 1986, he began helping an uncle with his wedding DJ business; within a year, he had started his own DJ company with some of his friends.