Bastille Day celebrations held at the French Ambassador to Israel Christophe Bigot’s residence in Tel Aviv on Thursday received a dose of celebrity in the form of high-profile politicians and other luminaries, including former captive Israel soldier Gilad Shalit.
The annual event to mark the independence of the French Republic was held in advance of Saturday’s actual July 14 anniversary because of Shabbat.
Welcoming the 2,000 assembled guests, among whom was Israeli President Shimon Peres, Bigot paid special tribute to Shalit, whose 5-year captivity attracted global appeals for his release, highlighting the role that France had played in raising the profile of his plight during his imprisonment by Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza.
“I’d like to thank Gilad and his father, Noam, for coming,” he said in his speech, as Shalit greeted the dignitaries present and posed for pictures with the crowd.
Showing solidarity with the Jewish State, the ambassador, who is widely expected to withdraw from his position this year, added that Israel could depend on new Socialist President Francoise Hollande as it relied on former incumbent Nicholas Sarkozy on the Iran issue, adding that the new sanctions on the Iranian regime were designed to end its disputed nuclear programme.
Peres heralded the French envoy’s three year Israeli tenure, expressing his gratitude for France having been the first state to openly support Israel and its right to defend itself. “That is why I am meticulous about coming here every year,” he stressed. “I thank France for those days and the deep friendship with Israel that has only grown stronger.”
Sending his congratulations to France on its national holiday, he said that last year’s social protect movement in Israel had its root in the French Revolution. The official Bastille Day commemoration in Israel included a fireworks display and a performance of La Marseillaise, France's national anthem alongside Israeli national anthem Hatikva.
Bastille Day, as the French National Day is known in English-speaking countries, commemorates the storing of the Bastille fortress on July 14 1789 , seen as a symbol of the birth of the modern French nation following the overthrow of the monarchy in the French Revolution.

EJP