Preparatory work for the Federation Day on the Champs de Mars, early 20th century (illustration)

Preparatory work for the Federation Day (July 14, 1790) on the Champs de Mars (Champs-de-Mars) in Paris. A year after the storming of the Bastille, Lafayette organized a gigantic ceremony for the reconciliation of the French Nation, attended by more than 400,000 spectators. The development of the site mobilized a multitude of people from all social classes, mixing monks and soldiers, aristocrats and the common people, men and women, children and old people. King Louis XVI himself came to give a symbolic boost. In the background, we can see the triumphal arch with 3 arches, built for the occasion. French revolution, fraternity, fatherland, patriotism. Illustration of a schoolboy notebook protector, early 20th century.