Following the dismissal of Jacques Necker on July 11, 1789 the people of Paris began to fear for the lives of their representatives in the Third Estate. Having no arms with which to protect themselves, they resolved to storm the Bastille (a prison and arms depository). This is considered the third step of the French Revolution. (First, the nobility refused to pay higher taxes to finance the American War of Independence. Second, the Third Estate were forced out of their chambers and made the Tennis Court Oath.) The storming of the Bastille led to the Third Estate drafting the Declaration of the Rights of Man - a pivotal document by any historian's standard.
July 14, now known as Bastille Day or the "Fête Nationale" in France, is a French national holiday which celebrates the uprising of the French people against classes which oppressed them politically and economically. It should be noted that without the arms within the Bastille, the people of Paris, and their uprising, would have been easily squashed by the French military. What if they did not secure these arms? Would the revolution have been successful? More to the point, how will the modern citizen revolt against his or her government if their government follows the pattern of almost every government in world history?
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2 comments:
Maybe we should ask Russians.. or the Chinese... or more modernly the Australians, the answers are very clear. Hold your guns or oppression is your gift.
Sarkozy seems to not like Bastille Day too much... he has 'passed' on alot the the former practices of the Presidents, the address to the media and pardoning of offenders. Seems like he wants to take th French in a new direction. I doubt they like that direction.
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