Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D.

7-14-89 . . . Today is the 200th anniversary of Bastille Day, an important day in French history. As I recall from my history courses many years ago, French peasants stormed the Bastille, a prison, to re­lease political prisoners. That marked the beginning of a long and bloody democratic revolution. Alas, I once knew a lot about the French revolution, but the details—and even, I hate to say, the broad outlines—have slipped from memory. Suffice it to say that this is the French equivalent of our Independence Day, and since it’s the bi­centennial of that great day, the nation is in a massive celebratory mode. Vive la France! Vive la Tour de France! Fittingly, Laurent Fignon, a Frenchman, leads the tour.