Bastille Day
As early as 1789, the year of the storming of the Bastille, preliminary designs for a national festival were underway. These designs were intended to strengthen the country's national identity through the celebration of the events of 14 July 1789. One of the first designs was proposed by Clément Gonchon, a French textile worker, who presented his design for a festival celebrating the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille to the French city administration and the public on 9 December 1789. There were other proposals and unofficial celebrations of 14 July 1789, but the official festival sponsored by the National Assembly was called the Fête de la Fédération.
Public holidays in Chad
March 8 is celebrated as "International Women's Day" -- La Journee Internationale de la Femme -- and marks the culmination of a national week of activities (la Semaine Nationale de la Femme Tchadienne, or "SENAFET") celebrating women. Observations of "huit mars", as it is known locally in French, vary from town to town, ranging from small ceremonies or a day off school for girls only to a week of events that includes races, contests and expositions by women’s groups and ends with parades and community-wide celebrations.