America isn’t the only country with an Independence Day in July. On July 14, France will be celebrating Bastille Day, the anniversary of the falling of the Bastille in Paris — formerly a state prison prior to the French Revolution.
To celebrate France’s revolution and Louisiana’s French heritage, the Louisiana Secretary of State will be hosting a lecture series at the Old State Capitol today. Speakers will discuss the holiday and the connections between Louisiana and France.
Florent Hardy, one of the speakers and director of Archival Services of the Louisiana State Archives, said Bastille Day, or la fête nationale, commemorates the capture of the Bastille by French revolutionaries.
While some may believe that revolutionaries aimed to liberate prisoners, Hardy said they actually stormed the prison to gain ammunition.
“The storming of the Bastille was not to free the prisoners only,” Hardy said. “It was really to get the gun powder, which was within those 10-foot walls.”
Hardy said there were only seven prisoners located in the fortress at the time of the storming.
The lecture series will feature three speakers. Hardy will discuss the connections between Louisiana and France; William Arceneaux, president of Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, will discuss his program and its preservation of the French language in the Boot state; and Paul West, site manager at SPF Flopam, will also discuss Louisiana’s associations with France.
Hardy said France has made a significant impact on Louisiana’s culture and language including the use of common words like “Mardi Gras” the state’s civil code, musical influences like zydeco and the state’s general “joie de vivre” attitude. He also noted the name Baton Rouge means “red stick,” which refers to settlers spotting bloody totems from the Mississippi River.
He also said that many cities in Louisiana are “twinned” with French cities. Baton Rouge is twinned with Aix-en-Provence, and the whole state of Louisiana is twinned with the city of Nice.
“It’s kind of like an agreement,” Hardy said. “It’s just an agreement to promote each other. Twinning is supporting each other … groups from the cities come to ours and ours go back to France.”
The celebration of Bastille Day will take place at 5 p.m. today, with a reception featuring special guests. The lecture series begins at 6 p.m. and is open to the public.