Bastille Day vs July 4: How the Americans and the French celebrate

FRANCE 24 English

On this US Independence Day, we take a look at what Americans do for their national holiday. From hot dogs to fireworks, we dive into American traditions and historical tidbits. We then find out how French people celebrate their national holiday and how this celebration of two events often involves a lot of dancing! This Entre Nous aired on Paris Direct, July 4, 2024. A programme produced by Amanda Alexander, Marina Pajovic and Georgina Robertson.  Visit our website: http://www.france24.com  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/France24_en

Transcript

00:00Today is the 4th of July in the United States.

00:03Hello to my fellow Americans celebrating Independence Day.

00:07And then next Sunday, the French will also celebrate their national day.

00:12And Solange Mugen is here in the studio with us to break down some of the traditions on

00:16both sides of the Atlantic.

00:17And notice that you are dressed appropriately for both the U.S. and France in red, white

00:22and blue.

00:23Nice choice.

00:24Red, white and blue.

00:25Bleu, blanc, rouge.

00:26That's right.

00:27So Solange, let's start with the U.S.

00:29It's 4th of July.

00:30What are Americans actually doing today?

00:33Well, as we both know, and in all seriousness, what are they doing today?

00:36Well, they're mostly eating.

00:38For years, it has been about hot dogs and hamburgers and potato salad and coleslaw and

00:42apple pie and watermelon.

00:45Families generally gather to have a barbecue or a picnic.

00:48And you see this love of food even in some of the niche traditions that are around today.

00:53In New York City, for example, there's an annual hot dog eating contest on the 4th.

00:57It's now in its 108th edition.

01:00It's been making headlines actually this year because it's Starr who won 16 times and broke

01:05the world record for eating 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

01:09Well, he won't be participating because he signed an endorsement deal with a plant-based

01:14or a non-meat meat company.

01:17Over the dispute, New York City's mayor called for all parties to stop being weenies, which

01:22is a pretty amazing pun.

01:24But that controversy aside, nationwide, over 150 million hot dogs will be consumed today

01:30alone.

01:31For many Americans, as this expat in France explained, it is a day to be with family.

01:37And there is a...

01:38It's a national holiday, and we don't have a lot of them in the U.S., so it's a good

01:42thing.

01:43Otherwise, it's a day to go out with your family, have a picnic like this one.

01:47We also play softball.

01:49I see it.

01:52Now the fourth is also embodied by pyrotechnics, for fireworks are, for the most part, legal

01:57in nearly all of the United States.

01:59Now, of course, there are lavish displays in most major cities, but many families also

02:04fire them off at home.

02:06But this enthusiasm, which has actually created a $2 billion industry, well, it also makes

02:11the holiday quite a dangerous one.

02:14In 2022, there were over 10,000 trips to the ER during the holiday, and three-fourths of

02:19those were because of fireworks.

02:21A third were of the firework industry's injuries were actually children.

02:26So outdoor meals, yes, but it's best to steer clear, if possible, of fireworks or at least

02:31be careful.

02:32You are making me nostalgic.

02:33For injuries aside, you're making me nostalgic and a little bit homesick, Solange.

02:38There is a third tradition that really embodies Independence Day, which is parades.

02:42Yeah, like in many countries, military parades are a standard on such holidays.

02:47And actually in Rwanda, for example, they're celebrating Liberation Day today, and they're

02:51doing it with a military parade.

02:53But back to the U.S.

02:55In Washington, D.C., there is an annual parade, but also in small towns and cities, local

03:01officials, first responders, they often parade through Main Street with communities waving

03:06flags.

03:07And sometimes people are even dressed up as founding fathers, Native Americans, or revolutionary

03:12soldiers.

03:13And this one has everything to do with the origin of Independence Day, for it commemorates

03:18July 4th, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress officially adopted the Declaration

03:25of Independence.

03:26Now, this secession from Britain was actually signed two days earlier on July 2nd.

03:32And for history, for the history trivia, the one and only president who refused to celebrate

03:37it on the 4th of July, well, it was John Adams.

03:40This is the U.S.'s second president.

03:42He turned down invitations to festivities on the 4th because he was adamant that celebrations

03:48should be on the 2nd, the day the document was signed, but not yet adopted.

03:53But this tidbit does not end there.

03:55Adams actually ended up dying on the 4th of July in 1826, which was the 50th anniversary.

04:02And to boot, he was not the only U.S. president to die on that day.

04:06Thomas Jefferson, who drafted much of the Declaration and became the U.S.'s third president,

04:11well, he also died on the 50th anniversary, which for many Americans at the time, they

04:16felt it was often a sign of the importance, a sign from who knows where, of what happened

04:22on in July 1776.

04:24And so on 14 years after that, there would be another significant gathering, this time

04:30in France.

04:31Yeah, and it was actually the first time an American, a U.S. flag was flown abroad in

04:36a foreign country.

04:37And so on July 14th, 1790, there was an inaugural gathering on the Champs-de-Mars in Paris and

04:43it was called La Fête de la Fédération.

04:46And it was celebrating the French Revolution, which had begun a year earlier, but also the

04:50fact that advances had been made, that France would become a constitutional monarchy led

04:55by a National Assembly.

04:56Now, of course, violent days were ahead with the toppling of the monarchy, but at that

05:01point there was a bit of calm and across France, people celebrated this movement forward

05:08and how a year also, and how a year earlier on July 14th, 1789, insurgents stormed the

05:15Bastille prison.

05:16Now today, Bastille Day, as we say in English, but it's important to note the French do not

05:21call it this.

05:22They call it the Quatre-Juillet or Fête Nationale.

05:25It is made up of some of the same traditions that the 4th of July has.

05:29There is, of course, a major military parade, fireworks as well.

05:34There isn't as much focus on food though, but there is focus on dancing.

05:38Here in France, there's something called the Balle des Pompiers or the Fireman's Ball.

05:43It's on the 13th or the 14th of July, it depends, and people go out to local firehouses and

05:49have a big, basically a big dance party.

05:52The legend is that these parties began in 1837 in Montmartre, but actually it's likely

05:57to be a lot older than that, originating as an August celebration of Napoleon's birthday.

06:03But when Bastille Day became France's national holiday in the 1880s, well, the letting loose

06:09at fire stations came with it.

06:11Today, the parties, which raise funds for firehouses, well, they have this reputation

06:16of being a wild ladies' night out.

06:21I heard that the firemen are sexy and that there's a good atmosphere, so I followed the

06:24group and I don't regret it.

06:27How long will you stay?

06:28Until the show.

06:29I have to see the firemen do their striptease.

06:34Are you all good?

06:35Yes, we're great.

06:38So I have a confession to make.

06:39I have never actually been to a fireman's ball, but I have been told that they are not

06:44necessarily as wild as the images that we just saw, that sometimes, at least early in

06:49the evening, they are a family gathering as well.

06:53I should try one one day.

06:55Personally, though, I'm a big fan of watching the fireworks of the Tour Eiffel, of the Eiffel

07:00Tower.

07:01I personally like to watch it from afar, from a park afar, so I can avoid the crowds but

07:06see the beauty of it.

07:07Well, I think we've got to get you to a fireman's ball this year.

07:10I think so.

07:11I think so.

07:12We should.

07:13I should.

07:14I should.

07:15Maybe the earlier part.

07:16Yeah, exactly.

07:17At least the early part.

07:18Not the late night disco.

07:19We'll leave that for the kids.

07:20All right.

07:21Solange Mijon, thank you so much for that history lesson.

07:23I learned a lot.

07:24I appreciate it.

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