Bastille Day
The "Fête de la Fédération"on 14 July 1790 was a celebration of the unity of the French nation during the French Revolution. The aim of this celebration, one year after the Storming of the Bastille, was to symbolise peace. The event took place on the Champ de Mars, which was located far outside of Paris at the time. The work needed to transform the Champ de Mars into a suitable location for the celebration was not on schedule to be completed in time. On the day recalled as the Journée des brouettes ("The Day of the Wheelbarrow"), thousands of Parisian citizens gathered together to finish the construction needed for the celebration.
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.