La Fête Nationale Celebrations
This weekend marked La Fête Nationale, or Bastille Day. In Lyon, the celebrations started on Friday afternoon with a military parade, and concluded with fireworks on Saturday night.
I was struck by how orderly and organised the crowd seemed at the big events. Despite the large numbers of people, there was no pushing or jostling for space. This is such a contrast to the attitude I see on the metro each day, where people push to get on before letting others off, and block doors and aisles with seemingly no regard for those trying to get past.
We watched the fireworks over Fourvière from Pont Marèchal Juin. The centre of the bridge was filled with families and groups sitting and having picnics, while others stood along the edges. The whole crowd watched the fireworks in near silence, with music drifting in from the live bands along the river bank.
