What happens on July 14 at the Arc de triomphe?

July is Bastille Day, commonly known in English as French National Day, and is the chief national holiday in the French Republic. It commemorates the Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, a turning point of the French Revolution, as well as the Fête de la Fédération which celebrated the unity of the French people on July 14, 1790. The first two military parades took place in 1880 and 1881 to mark the anniversary of the July Revolution of 1830. The military parade, the défilé, was held on July 14 on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, and later became a fixed institution of the Third Republic, a way of establishing its legitimacy through the display of military power at a time when the republican form of government was still fragile.

Today, the official ceremony and military parade are held on July 14, the national holiday, in the presence of the President of the French Republic, high governmental and military authorities and foreign guests, at the Arc de Triomphe, atop the Champs-Élysées. The parade has been an important ritual to promote national cohesion, unity and republican patriotism.