Bastille Day had often held people jailed on the basis of "lettres de cachet" (literally "signet letters"), arbitrary royal indictments that could not be appealed and did not indicate the reason for the imprisonment. The Bastille held a large cache of ammunition and gunpowder, and was also known for holding political prisoners whose writings had displeased the royal government, and was thus a symbol of the absolutism of the monarchy. As it happened, at the time of the attack in July 1789 there were only seven inmates, none of great political significance. The crowd was eventually reinforced by mutinous "Gardes Françaises" ("French
Prisoners' rights in New Zealand unlock regime has condensed the working day for many prisoners, including meal times, with some dinners being routinely served as early as 3.30pm, leaving prisoners without meals for lengthy periods. Lunch was served at 11.10am in Christchurch Women’s Prison and the evening meal being served as early as 3.15pm at MECF during the 2014-2015 reporting period. At Hawkes Bay prison inspectors observed breakfast being issued in at 9.15am, and lunch delivered to the units around 11am, issued to and eaten by prisoners before they were locked up by 11.45am. The evening meal was delivered to the units as early as