DUSHANBE, July 14, 2008, Asia-Plus — The French Embassy in Dushanbe is organizing a reception today on occasion of Bastille Day.
Members of the Tajik government and parliament, known scientists and artistes as well as representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations active in Tajikistan and media have been invited to attend the reception.
Visiting European Union Special Representative for Central Asia, Mr. Pierre Morel, will also attend the reception.
Bastille Day, the French national holiday, commemorates the storming of the Bastille, which took place on July 14, 1789 and marked the beginning of the French Revolution. The Bastille was a prison and a symbol of the absolute and arbitrary power of Louis the 16th”s Ancient Regime. By capturing this symbol, the people signaled that the king”s power was no longer absolute: power should be based on the Nation and be limited by a separation of powers.
Although the Bastille held only seven prisoners at the time of its capture, the storming of the prison was a symbol of liberty and the fight against oppression for all French citizens; like the Tricolor flag, it symbolized the Republic”s three ideals: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity for all French citizens. It marked the end of absolute monarchy, the birth of the sovereign Nation, and, eventually, the creation of the (First) Republic, in 1792. Bastille Day was declared the French national holiday on 6 July 1880, on Benjamin Raspail”s recommendation, when the new Republic was firmly entrenched.
