PUDUCHERRY: The French citizens in Puducherry along with their Indian brethren on Tuesday celebrated the 226th French National Day (La Fete Nationale), in Puducherry, a former French colony, on Tuesday.
The day is marked as a re-dedication to the principles of ‘Liberty, Equality and Fraternity’ that drove forward the French Revolution.
On this day in 1789, the Bastille Prison in France was stormed, marking the beginning of the French Revolution with the inspiring slogan of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. The day is celebrated every year in Puducherry, which was a French colony for over two centuries, before joining the Indian Union in 1963.
For Puducherry, which shares strong historical and cultural links with France, the day began with commemoration of brave soldiers from Puducherry as well as France who laid down their lives in World War I. District Collector Dr S Sundaravadivelu and French Consul General Philippe Janvier - Kamiyama joined hands in paying solemn tributes to war heroes at the French War Memorial on Goubert Avenue. In Karaikal, the French citizens and general public paid floral tributes at the world war memorial situated in front of the Karaikal collector office.