In 1789, France was in the grips of The French Revolution; a titanic struggle between the ruling elite and the common people, known as The Third Estate (the nobility and the Church being the first two).
The 14th July is a National French commemoration of the storming of the Bastille (a fortress/prison in outlying Paris) which held huge amounts of ammunition; it was also used as a detention centre for dissidents to the monarchy.
With an impasse between the common people, the Church and the ruling classes, the common people stormed the Bastille, fearing military attacks from national and international armed forces. The 14th July 1789 is seen as the definitive act of defiance against the monarchy and the ruling classes. It resulted in the banning of feudalism and the 'Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen'. It took many more years of terror to bring about 'La Republique de France'.
Les Miserables, for example, is set in 1815.
King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were dethroned in 1792 (despite his many attempts to offer reform to French citizens). In 1793 they, along with many other members of nobility, were executed.
During the next seven years, the nation underwent a series of coups, wars, famines, and counter-revolutions. During the so-called "Reign of Terror," Maximilien de Robespierre, who was ironically in charge of the Committee of Public Safety, sent as many as 40,000 people to the guillotine.
The storming of the Bastille resulted in small loss of life (about 15) but it was a hugely significant event in the French Revolution.
