The Storming of the Bastille (French: Prise de la Bastille) occurs in Paris, France, on the afternoon of July 14, 1789.
The medieval fortress, armory, and political prison in Paris known as the Bastille represents royal authority in the center of Paris.
The prison contains just seven inmates at the time of its storming, but is seen by the revolutionaries as a symbol of the monarchy's abuses of power; its fall is the flashpoint of the French Revolution.
In France, Le quatorze juillet (14 July) is a public holiday, usually called Bastille Day in English.
