FIREWORKS 14 JULY. What is the program for the traditional National Day pyrotechnic show, fired from the Eiffel Tower? We also take stock of the festivities in Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Rennes, and even in the smallest towns.
[Mis à jour le 12 juillet 2022 à 11h53] The fireworks on July 14, 2022 are severely disrupted this year by the drought which is affecting a large part of the country. This is particularly the case for fireworks in certain parts of southern France. As a result, several fireworks have already been canceled. This is the case of the municipalities of Allauch, Charleval, Meyreuil and Aubagne in the Bouches-du-Rhône, or Nîmes in the Gard. The risks of fires starting or even fires caused by the aridity of the soils and natural spaces have prompted many of the organizers to be cautious.
The fireworks from the Eiffel Tower in Paris will take place this Thursday, July 14 at 11 p.m. on the theme of Liberty, referring to the origin of July 14, the feast of the Federation, which was the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, on the Champ-de-Mars in Paris on July 14, 1790. Below, we take stock of the times and best places where the most impressive fireworks in France are fired for the July 14th. You can also use the summary opposite.
The most spectacular of the July 14 fireworks is of course taking place in Paris, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, bringing together more than 500,000 people. In the program ? A half-hour show that begins at 11 p.m. on the Champ-de-Mars, on the theme of “Freedom”. This 10th edition of the July 14 fireworks display is preceded by a free symphony concert without reservation at 9:15 p.m., by the Orchester National de France, conducted by Cristian Măcelaru, the Radio France choir and the Maîtrise de Radio France. The concert and the fireworks are broadcast live on television on France 2but also on the radio and on the internet, by France Inter. While waiting for the images of this flamboyant fireworks display, a look back at last year’s:
If the biggest fireworks are fired from the Eiffel Tower and never deviate from the rule, Covid or not, there are also very beautiful ones in other major cities in France such as Marseille, Bordeaux, Lyon, Rennes or Toulouse. In some municipalities in the departments of Gard or Bouches-du-Rhône, the risk of fire due to the heat wave dissuaded the mayors of several municipalities from maintaining the fireworks display on July 14. We take stock, below, of the most impressive fireworks maintained and those which are canceled in the major cities of France on the occasion of July 14. You can also use the summary above.
The fireworks of July 14 are fired from the hill of Fourvière in Lyon in the 5th arrondissement. On the theme “pure artifice”, the sequences are shot around 10:30 p.m., lasting 21 minutes in 5 acts composed of 152 tableaux for 14 sequences and 4 interludes. The fireworks can be admired from the banks of the Saône on the Presqu’île side.
The July 14 fireworks are fired from the Garonne Quai Louis XIV at 10:25 p.m. It can be observed from the water mirror, the stone bridge, the Chaban-Delmas bridge, the Cité du Vin, the Parc de l’Ermitage, the right bank of the Garonne or aboard the Sardane (a cruise ship on the Garonne for a price of 21 euros).
At what time and where does the fireworks of July 14 take place in Marseille?
The appointment is given at 10:30 p.m. The fireworks are fired from 16 pontoons on the lake of the Old Port and from Fort d’Entrecasteaux. The pyrotechnic show generally lasts about thirty minutes with music. The best place to see the fireworks is of course on the Old Port but also the Quai de la Mairie or the Esplanade de la Tourette. The Pharo garden is open to the public to admire the pyrotechnic show.
The big fireworks are fired at 10:30 p.m. from 24 rafts and barges in the middle of the Garonne by the Lacroix-Ruggieri company. Called “Toulouse head in the stars, from dream to reality”, it is accompanied by music from films (Interstellar) and series (Doctor Who). It can be observed from the Pont Neuf, the Saint-Michel bridge, the quai de Tounis and the Daurade.
Entitled fireworks partythe National Day fireworks will take place on July 13 at 11:15 p.m. from the Bellangerais stadium, created by Hubert Thézé Pyrotechnics around the theme of holidays celebrated around the world, from Japan to Mexico, via France. Italy, Spain, China and of course, France, around a musical atmosphere typical of each country.
In Lille, the big fireworks will be held at 11 p.m. on the Champ de Mars. In Hellemmes, it takes place at Place Hentgès at 11 p.m., as in downtown Tourcoing.
Pornic sets off its fireworks from the castle footbridge at 11 p.m. at the end of the mussel festival organized for the national holiday, with the program, mussels and fries, popular ball and concerts from 6 p.m.
Preceded by a musette ball on the Saint-Vincent esplanade in Saint-Malo, the July 14 fireworks display by the Jacques Couturier company is fired from the Môle des Noires, near the ramparts, at 11:10 p.m. On the theme “the Fox and the corsairs”, the fireworks promise to be “dynamic and varied. He will transcribe the story of the old rig “baptized the Fox, a replica of the last boat armed in 1812 by the Saint-Malo corsair Robert Surcouf, according to the elected officials. A fest-noz with the bagad Quic follows from 11:40 p.m. to 1 a.m. -en-Groigne, on the Saint-Vincent esplanade.
As part of the Cannes Pyrotechnic Art Festival, the bay of Cannes lights up at 10 p.m. on July 14, on the science fiction theme “Aquarêve”. The pyrotechnicians perform a fresco full of emotions, accompanied by famous or singular melodies (Daft Punk, Muse, Eric Serra, The Piano Guys, Baltic House Orchestra, John Williams & London Symphony Orchestra, Junkie XL, M83, Daft Punk).
The July 14 fireworks are fired at 11 p.m. from the Rocher de la Vierge and the lighthouse, lasting 15 minutes, at nearly 240 meters in height.
The fireworks will be fired at 11 p.m. from the Anne-de-Bretagne bridge, with the theme of the “cultural route through the City of Nantes”. It is visible around the bridges and banks of the Loire.
The July 14 fireworks are fired at Georges Charpak Park in the Port Marianne district after the concert of the Montpellier Occitanie National Orchestra conducted by Pierre Dumoussaud on Place Georges Frêche.
The July 14 fireworks display is canceled in Nîmes due to the risk of fire linked to the heat wave. “The current circumstances, with the major risk of new outbreaks of fire, force us to be cautious and responsible and I know that the people of Nîmes, who are very attached to this festive event, will easily understand this” explained the mayor of Nîmes. Jean-Paul Fournier (LR).
How were the fireworks associated with the national holiday of July 14? And where could the idea of firing firecrackers as loud as they were bright to celebrate the event come from? The explanations are rather vague or in any case incomplete. You should first know that fireworks themselves date back several centuries and were even invented by… the monarchy. Funny when you know that they are today an institution of July 14 or almost. The History of France regularly refers to the show given in 1612 on the Place des Vosges in Paris during the wedding of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. It would be the first real fireworks display in France. Far from signing a break with this monarchical practice, the Revolution appropriated fireworks and made it accessible to the people. Fireworks were therefore no longer reserved for the elite and the court in 1790, and a show was already given during the Fête de la Fédération on July 14. Some Republicans will put fireworks aside for their royal past, but these will come back in force with Napoleon, also anxious to impress the crowds. In 1880, when it was decided to make July 14 the national holiday, the fireworks really entered the customs. The Third Republic adopted it and, with industrialization, it became a less expensive art. It is during this period of bubbling that it will gain in height, with more powerful rockets, in color with new powders, and in noise with more festive firecrackers.