Storming of the Bastille Storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille ( ) occurred in Paris, France, on the afternoon of 14 July 1789. The medieval fortress, armory, and political prison in Paris known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. The prison contained just seven inmates at the time of its storming, but was seen by the revolutionaries as a symbol of the monarchy's abuses of power; its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution. In France, "Le quatorze juillet" (14 July) is a public holiday, usually called Bastille Day in English. During the reign of
Joseph-Henri baron de Jessé Estates-General by the sénéchaussée Béziers, to serve as a deputy of the nobility. The Estates-General soon reached a deadlock. The Third Estate, or Commoners, broke away during June and formed its own assembly. Jessé was amongst those who helped persuade the three orders of Clergy, Nobility and Commoners to eventually reunite and form the National Constituent Assembly, which was declared on 9 July 1789. The Bastille was stormed, and fell on 14 July 1789. The people of Paris believed that weapons and gunpowder were being stored in the Bastille, and fearing the city was about to be placed under military