The French know how to do a national holiday. While Britain marks its big occasions with a flypast and an increasingly anxious conversation about the weather, Bastille Day comes with fireworks, wine and, inevitably, a very long dinner.
Held every 14 July, France’s fête nationale commemorates the storming of the Bastille in 1789, the uprising that helped ignite the French Revolution. You do not, however, need a working knowledge of revolutionary history – or even a tricolore – to join in. A bottle of something French and a willingness to use a slightly unreasonable amount of butter will do.
