A French Programme for English Listeners
Presented by M. STÉPHAN
IF all our four Bank Holidays were, with Guy Fawkes Day as well to concentrate upon one midsummer day ; if, moreover, that day were to have some deep and adored national significance the English would have spme parallel to the French Fete Nationale, which occurs annually upon the 14th of July and which celebrates the fall of the Bastille Prison in the Revolution. Though the Bastille at the time of its capture did not contain very many prisoners, it had for so long stood for what had been so very much detested that its fall was, in many ways, the supreme moment of the movement towards Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, and even now the decline of the franc and postwar disillusionment cannot deaden the happiness of this day. Luckily, the feast falls near some mid-summer Christian festivals and thus both freethinker and faithful have an excuse to rejoice together, whatever their political opinions.
Upon the 14th of July, and for some days afterwards there is no town or village in France that does not make the night bright with fire-works nor rope off some of its streets from traffic, in order that the public may dance in the open air. To this dancing there seems no end, nor to the possibilities of partnership among the dancers; everyone seems to dance with everyone-the soldier with his sergeant-major, the cafe-keeper with his wife, the debtor with his creditor, the girl with her lover-all forget, forgive and dance together in this season of summer gaiety. We shall indeed be fortunate if. in this part of tonight's programme, we can catch from our French friends some of the Gallic happiness which is flowing over France today.