Bastille Day 2008

I was reminded a few minutes ago that it's Bastille Day.

Here's a bit about what's happening, and what happened, on and about July 14:

• "Leaders mass for parade in Paris"
  BBC (July 14, 2008)
  • "Leaders from Europe, the Middle East and North Africa have been attending France's Bastille Day military parade.
  • "United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was the guest of honour, while two units of UN peacekeepers were leading the traditional march.
  • "But President Nicolas Sarkozy aroused controversy by inviting President Bashar Assad of Syria, a country accused of supporting terrorism....
  • "...The parade followed a weekend in which President Sarkozy launched the Union for the Mediterranean, a new international body with 43 member nations aimed at increasing co-operation between the EU and African and Middle Eastern countries bordering the Mediterranean...."
• "celebrate bastille day jessye norman style."
  Spectacular Blog (July 14, 2008)
  • Some slightly silly text, and 8:40 of video of a woman with a fine voice, a gown that I suppose fits the occasion, and fireworks.
• "History of Bastille Day"
  France in Australia Embassy and Consulate-General
  • " The 14th of July - the History of France’s National Day
  • "In 1880, the 14th of July, or Bastille Day as it is also known, officially became France’s national day, in memory of the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. This commemoration, whose purpose was to unite all the French around an altar to the mother country, was also a throwback to the Fête of the Federation of July 14, 1790, a symbol of national reconciliation. The popular merry-making to which it gave rise, ensured that it would last..."

Digging up those links, I discovered that Bastille Day is celebrated in quite a few American cities.