Kerala

They celebrate the fall of Bastille

They hoisted the French `drapeau tricolore' and the Indian National Flag on a single pole, exchanged pleasantries and drank a toast to their well-being.

These dwindling number of Mahe-born French citizens were celebrating the 216th anniversary of the fall of Bastille on Thursday. The day is observed as the French Republic Day. The venue of their celebration, as usual, was the office of the Union des Francaise de Mahe, the organisation they formed in 1963 which now has nearly 80 members. Before they reached the union office in a small procession carrying the French and Indian Tricolour flags, these Mahe-born people who opted French citizenship lit a candle at the St. Teresa's Shrine and placed floral wreath at the bust of Jeanne d'Arc (Joanne of Arc) at the Tagore Park at Mahe in memory of the martyrs of the French Revolution. Jeanne d'Arc is the symbol of the French nationalism.

Many of the 35 members of the union who participated in the function were aged people. They were the first generation French loyalists who had opted the French citizenship when the French left Mahe in 1954. "The number of union members is dwindling now as our children, many of whom also opted French citizenship, are settled in different places including Paris," said union president Panangadan Balakrishnan. In the union office that adorned the portraits of General de Gaulle and French president Jaques Chirac, union secretary Thekkeyil Vassou briefly narrated the history of the French Revolution. French Republic Day is one of the two occasions that the French citizens of Mahe commemorate every year, the other being `fete d'Armistice' (Armistice Day) on November 11 marking the end of the World War I.

The French rule here came to an end on July 16, 1954 when the last French Administrator, Deschamps, handed over the power to leaders of the Mahe liberation movement headed by late I. K. Kumaran.

Mohammed Nazeer

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