French fighter jets trailed red-white-and-blue smoke over Paris monuments, families held picnics and firefighters hosted holiday balls around France to celebrate Bastille Day on Friday, a moment of much-needed festivity after mass protests, riots and political divisions that have riven the country this year.
Not everyone was feeling the spirit of “liberty, equality and fraternity” that the holiday aims to embody. Traditional fireworks displays were banned in some towns, and trams and buses halted after dark across France to prevent new unrest in underprivileged neighborhoods. And an exceptional 130,000 police were deployed around the country to maintain order.
