We French may not be what we used to be, the celebrants seemed to be saying, but we are still much more than people think we are. We have a great revolutionary past that still conveys universal values – liberty, equality, fraternity – and an army that, as in Mali, continues to make a difference in the world.
但这或许也是自然转折点之一，是集体性的同时决定：“受够了压抑，让我们前进吧。”庆祝者似乎在说，法国人或许已不再是昔日的法国人，但我们仍比人们所认为的更好。我们有伟大的革命的过去，这一过去仍在传达普世价值——自由、平等、博爱；我们有军队，马里证明我们的军队仍能给世界带来不同。