There was chanting of the Carmagnole. There were shouts of "To the lamppost." France's first Bastille Day since liberation brought Parisians into the streets for snake-dancing on the boulevards, parades, surreptitious fireworks (firecrackers are officially banned). But the Bastille Day gaiety was less spontaneous than official. Said one French spectator: "It's all very well to show [the people] a military spectacle, but they are still worried about food."
On hand for the occasion were Prague's Mayor Vaclav Macek and a "Monsieur Mong" representing the mayor of Chungking. But France's most important guest was Sidi Lamine, Bey of Tunis. He arrived wearing...