{"id":8521,"date":"2026-07-07T19:27:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T17:27:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lafrenchzone.com\/?p=8521"},"modified":"2026-07-07T19:40:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T17:40:00","slug":"july-14th-why-it-matters-and-5-mistakes-to-avoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lafrenchzone.com\/en\/july-14th-why-it-matters-and-5-mistakes-to-avoid\/","title":{"rendered":"July 14th in France: Why It Matters and 5 Mistakes to Avoid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>July 14th in France: Why It Matters and 5 Mistakes to Avoid<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>July 14th is coming up. For a lot of expats, this holiday still feels a bit mysterious. It&#8217;s France&#8217;s national holiday, commemorating two events: the storming of the Bastille in 1789 and the F\u00eate de la F\u00e9d\u00e9ration of 1790, which celebrated the country&#8217;s unity. The date still matters today, because it recalls the founding values of the French Republic: liberty, equality, and fraternity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are the most common mistakes expats make around July 14th, and how to avoid them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Saying &#8220;Bastille Day&#8221; instead of &#8220;le 14 juillet&#8221;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is probably the most common mistake among English speakers. In English, people often say &#8220;Bastille Day.&#8221; But this term doesn&#8217;t exist in French. A French person will simply say &#8220;le 14 juillet&#8221; or &#8220;la f\u00eate nationale.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Good to know:<\/strong> the storming of the Bastille in 1789 marked the end of royal absolutism. It&#8217;s the symbolic starting point of the French Revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Missing the festivities the night before, on July 13th<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many expats assume everything happens on the 14th. In reality, a large part of the festivities starts on the evening of July 13th, and you don&#8217;t want to miss it, it&#8217;s one of the most fun parts of the holiday. That&#8217;s when the famous bals des pompiers, or firefighter balls, take place. Fire stations open their doors to the public, with music, drinks, and a lively atmosphere, especially in big cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mood there is often more relaxed and festive than at the military parade the next morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Not sure what your French level is? Take the free 5-minute test and get your bonus ebook!&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons has-custom-font-size has-medium-font-size is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-a89b3969 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-outline is-style-outline--1\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-ast-global-color-5-color has-vivid-red-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color has-medium-font-size has-custom-font-size wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/lafrenchzone.com\/en\/test-your-level\/\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px\">Test My French Level<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Comparing July 14th to the American 4th of July<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s tempting to compare July 14th to Independence Day, the American national holiday celebrated on July 4th. Each date commemorates a founding moment in its country&#8217;s history, but the celebrations are quite different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the United States, festivities usually revolve around barbecues with family or neighbors, often held in private backyards. In France, the celebration is more collective and takes place in public spaces rather than at home. It typically includes the military parade on the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es, public dances, and fireworks, the most famous of which are launched from the Eiffel Tower in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Not planning around the practical details of the day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>July 14th is a <a href=\"https:\/\/lafrenchzone.com\/en\/working-days-and-holidays-in-france\/\">public holiday<\/a> in France. Many shops are closed for the day. In Paris, certain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ratp.fr\/decouvrir\/decouvrir\/sorties-et-visites\/14-juillet-defile-concert-feu-dartifice-comment-se-deplacer\">metro and RER stations<\/a> close completely around the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es in the morning for the parade, and again around the Eiffel Tower in the evening for the fireworks. Buses and trams also stop running earlier, around 10pm, on July 13th and 14th. In other major cities, similar restrictions often apply around the areas where fireworks or public gatherings take place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to watch the fireworks, it&#8217;s a good idea to arrive several hours early to get a good spot. Bag checks are also common at the main access points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Assuming all French people see July 14th the same way<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, there&#8217;s a more subtle mistake: assuming all French people experience July 14th the same way. For many, it&#8217;s a joyful holiday that brings the whole country together around the parade, the balls, and the fireworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But for others, it also touches on more sensitive topics, like the cost of the military parade or the presence of soldiers from former French colonies, which can bring up painful history for certain families. It&#8217;s best to avoid making light jokes about these topics, especially if you don&#8217;t know the person you&#8217;re talking to very well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding these cultural nuances is already a great first step toward feeling more at ease here. But speaking French fluently is what will really help you build genuine connections and feel at home in France. At La French Zone, my <a href=\"https:\/\/lafrenchzone.com\/en\/french-courses\/\">online French courses<\/a> are designed exactly for that: improving your speaking skills, understanding cultural codes, and fully settling in, at your own pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns has-ast-global-color-5-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-6a7e80648a7f064e5d7fceca40e3efe6 is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-3b4fe76f wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex cc-hide-on-mobile\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px;border-radius:24px;background-color:#00204a;margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-ast-global-color-5-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a6fa3bba43564142ce38a93166d1ae2c\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px;padding-top:0;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:0;padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><strong>You don&#8217;t know which French course to choose?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-ast-global-color-5-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b3c0f64a35c3365c38b7d2bcbbe87f9e\" style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\">Book a free 15-minute appointment.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\">This will be an opportunity to ask me all your questions about&nbsp;<strong>the course of my courses<\/strong>, the exercises I give and&nbsp;<strong>the resources provided<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\">You can also ask me what&nbsp;<strong>the most typical thing people do at the office<\/strong>&nbsp;is.. (For your information, this is the coffee break to chat about work-related topics, but above all&nbsp;of his weekend).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-content-justification-center is-layout-constrained wp-block-column-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"flex-basis:60%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized cc-hide-on-mobile\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);margin-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);margin-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20)\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lafrenchzone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Group-24-2-Grande.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1796\" width=\"1280\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lafrenchzone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Group-24-2-Grande.png 1280w, https:\/\/lafrenchzone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Group-24-2-Grande-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/lafrenchzone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Group-24-2-Grande-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/lafrenchzone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Group-24-2-Grande-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/lafrenchzone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Group-24-2-Grande-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-dots\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20)\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-1fb448e7 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-100 is-style-fill\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-background has-text-align-center wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/calendly.com\/lafrenchzone\/appeldecouverte\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px;border-radius:35px;background-color:#ff4d5c;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--80)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BOOK AN APPOINTMENT!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns has-ast-global-color-5-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-fe476db863bc00c1bd5d816749cadf97 is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-3b4fe76f wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex cc-hide-on-tablet cc-hide-on-desktop\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px;border-radius:24px;background-color:#00204a;margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-ast-global-color-5-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-a6fa3bba43564142ce38a93166d1ae2c\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px;padding-top:0;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:0;padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\"><strong>You don&#8217;t know which French course to choose?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-ast-global-color-5-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b3c0f64a35c3365c38b7d2bcbbe87f9e\" style=\"padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\">Book a free 15-minute appointment.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\">This will be an opportunity to ask me all your questions about&nbsp;<strong>the course of my courses<\/strong>, the exercises I give and&nbsp;<strong>the resources provided<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\">You can also ask me what&nbsp;<strong>the most typical thing people do at the office<\/strong>&nbsp;is.. (For your information, this is the coffee break to chat about work-related topics, but above all&nbsp;of his weekend).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-1fb448e7 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-100 is-style-fill\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-background has-text-align-center wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/calendly.com\/lafrenchzone\/appeldecouverte\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px;border-radius:24px;background-color:#ff4d5c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BOOK AN APPOINTMENT!<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>July 14th in France: Why It Matters and 5 Mistakes to Avoid July 14th is coming up. For a lot of expats, this holiday still feels a bit mysterious. It&#8217;s France&#8217;s national holiday, commemorating two events: the storming of the Bastille in 1789 and the F\u00eate de la F\u00e9d\u00e9ration of 1790, which celebrated the country&#8217;s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8522,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jf_limit_responses":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[37],"class_list":["post-8521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-live-in-france","tag-intermediate"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>July 14th in France: Why It Matters and 5 Mistakes to Avoid<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"July 14th: why it matters, its history, and 5 common mistakes expats make. 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