Yesterday was election day in France, and if you haven't heard already, François Hollande has been elected the next president of the republic. There was a large victory celebration around the Bastille for his campaign, and my friend Troy invited me along to snap some photos.
I managed to take nearly 450 photos, and several videos of the celebration. I was surprised by how much energy and excitement was flowing through the crowd, mostly fueled by the huge number of youth there.
There was also a huge group of people who had climbed over the fences of the Bastille monument and up on to it. There was music and dancing, and a great sense of camaraderie, with everyone coming together to help get people on and off the monument safely.
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| The view of the crowds from atop the Bastille. |
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| «Campaign Team» |
While the Bastille was the center of the party, the streets all around had been closed down and were filling with revelers. People from all nationalities were playing music and dancing, and there was a large group of women representing Cote d'Ivoire. They had drums and chants going through the whole night. There were also groups of workers selling commemorative posters and newspapers filling the side streets. And once the Bastille monument filled up, people began climbing anything that would support their weight, trying to get a better view of the live music and giant television screens at the far end of the place.
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| A woman from the Cote d'Ivoire group, showing her support. |
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| A worker selling newspapers and posters. |
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| This young man found a perch atop a traffic light. |
Overall, the experience was crazy. I have never been to a street event with so many people, nor one with such a historical significance. I'm glad I got a chance to see it, and I hope it really does mean a new chapter for France and the EU.
Hopefully I'll have some video of the event up soon, and I have a backlog of posts that I just need to put photos to. Let me know what you think!
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