From the Archives, July 2017
Story by Philippe Defechereux
All photos by Philippe Defechereux
“Bastille Day,” which marks the official beginning of the French Revolution, is celebrated each July 14 in Paris along the Champs Elysées with great fanfare and a military parade. In the large cosmopolitan centers around the world where, often, sizeable French communities thrive, the commemoration varies according to the whims of the local French expatriate groups.
In New York City, this celebration of the French revolutionary spirit is conducted with particular audace and flair. In an event called “The Annual Bastille Day Rally and Rendez-Vous,” up to 40 vintage French cars and their owners gather up in the early morning in Grant’s Tomb Park, on Riverside Drive and 122nd Street. As the event’s key organizers are also the founders of the “Greater New York Citroën and Velosolex Club,” a majority of the cars are Citroëns, though you’ll find an occasional Peugeot or Renault.
[Read more…] about The Annual Bastille Day Rally and Rendez-Vous, circa 2017
