Extract
[...] In summary, we have been able to observe that the City of Paris represents the ideal place to host the numerous festivals and celebrations of the beginning of Louis XIV's reign. From 1660, we have been able to observe that the power in place was able to make available a certain number of tools and modalities allowing these ceremonial festivals to serve the royal crown and its prestige. Much more than simple celebrations, we can indeed realize the importance of such public gatherings, which played a crucial role in the exercise of royal power. They were a way for the king to demonstrate his grandeur, legitimacy, and ability to govern. [...]
[...] Previously a simple hunting relay, the place is then dedicated to festivals, dance, theater, and opera, which the king particularly appreciates. From 1661, labyrinths and stone animals are then erected, which only reinforce the appeal of this festive landscape. Famous for its magnificent gardens, sumptuous receptions, and impressive architecture, this place offers a new framework for festivities to the crown. In addition to this, it seems obvious to refer to the events of 1789 to explain the decline of festivities in Paris. [...]
[...] The princely births are also events celebrated and commemorated within the city of Paris. Indeed, these births constitute happy events for the reigning family, but also for the entire state. Whether in the context of a birth or a marriage, these events were a means of consolidating political and dynastic alliances. They also made it possible to strengthen the position of the princes and the king, by bringing them a high-ranking wife and ensuring a legitimate offspring for the continuity of the royal line. [...]
[...] In this sense, the 17th and 18th centuries saw the development of a complex system of ceremonies and festivals that served to reinforce the power of the monarch and the state. These centuries are very demonstrative times of these great festivals dedicated to coronations and coronations. We can, for example, refer to the coronation of Louis XV or that of Louis XVI, which gave rise to great celebrations. Similarly, royal entries give rise to important ceremonies. Already on August Louis XIV made a solemn entry into the capital on the arm of Marie-Thérèse, whom he had just married. [...]
[...] As the residence of the royal court and the nobility, it is naturally within these walls that the great celebrations take place. Renowned for its refinement and its sense of celebration, it is thus that Paris welcomes from 1660 a major celebration which is the marriage of Louis XIV with the Infanta of Spain, Marie-Thérèse. Such events will not cease to punctuate Parisian life, and this until 1789 due to the French Revolution. Thus, the interest of starting our subject in the 1660s and limiting our reflection to the year 1789 is to understand the modalities and the various forms that festivals and celebrations could take in Paris, but also to put a finger on the decline of these, due to a shift in the place of political centrality and the emergence of revolutionary ideas of 1789. [...]
