| On
July 14, 1789, the mob, joined by some of the King's soldiers, stormed
the Bastille. The commander, de Launay, attempted to surrender,
but the mob would not accept it. He was killed as they poured through
the gates. No guard was left alive.
Later
in the day the prisoners were released. There were only seven: two
were convicted forgers; one was a loose-living aristocrat put in
prison by his own father. Nevertheless it was a great symbolic event,
one which is still celebrated in France every year.
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