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On what date was the Bastille stormed, marking the symbolic start of the French Revolution?
The Bastille — a medieval fortress in eastern Paris being used as a state prison — was stormed by a Parisian crowd on 14 July 1789, six weeks after the Estates-General had convened. The date became France's national holiday in 1880. 5 May 1789 was the opening of the Estates-General; 21 January 1793 the execution of Louis XVI; 9 November 1799 Napoleon's coup that ended the Revolution.
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The French Revolution The French Revolution was a period of radical political and social transformation in France that lasted from 1789 to 1799. It abolished the absolute monarchy, established the principle of popular sovereignty, and reshaped political thought across Europe for the following two centuries.
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