BASTILLE DAY - INTERNATIONAL
News: PM
Modi accepts French invite for Bastille Day celebration in Paris
What's in the news?
● Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has accepted the invite from French President Emmanuel
Macron to be the Guest of Honour at the Bastille Day Parade in Paris on July
14, in Paris.
Key takeaways:
● India
and France are committed to build on the past 25 years through common
commitments in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.
● The
celebrations of July 14 in Paris mark
the storming of the Bastille, which was the symbol of royal authority in France.
There is no established tradition of inviting Heads of State or government, and
such invites are extended on special occasions.
● Prime
Minister Narendra Modi will be the 2nd Indian PM to be the guest of honour at
Bastille Day, after Manmohan Singh in 2009.
Bastille Day Parade:
● The
Bastille Day military parade, also known as the 14 July military parade, is a
French military parade that has been held on the morning of 14 July each year
in Paris since 1880.
● It
is also one of the oldest regular military parades in the world.
● July
14 is the anniversary of the storming of the infamous Bastille prison in 1789 - a turning point for the success
of the French Revolution.
● This
day is marked as the National Day of
France.
France:
● It
is the largest country in Western Europe.
● Its
overseas territories include French
Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the
French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean.
● Major mountain ranges: Alps,
Pyrenees, Massif Central
● Major rivers:
Seine, Rhine and Rhône