The Bastille Day fireworks display in Ottawa and Gatineau, as seen above the official residence of the French ambassador to Canada, on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline Phillips
The Bastille Day garden party, hosted last night by the Embassy of France, lit up the sky for all to see, both in Ottawa and Gatineau, with its brilliant fireworks show.
It’s almost as if France, recognizing not everyone can make it to Paris this summer for the largest sporting event in the world, instead brought the City of Lights to our nation’s capital.
The Bastille Day garden party, hosted last night by the Embassy of France, lit up the sky for all to see, both in Ottawa and Gatineau, with its brilliant fireworks show. The performance marked the culmination of an event filled with fine food and libations.The crowd of roughly 1,400 invited guests was officially welcomed by France’s ambassador to Canada, Michel Miraillet, who recognized that all eyes will be on Paris in the coming days as the city prepares to host the Summer Olympic Games.French Ambassador Michel Miraillet, seen with his wife, Geneviève Quenum-Miraillet, welcomed between 1,300 and 1,400 guests to the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline Phillips“France will welcome the entire world for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris — 100 years after the last Summer Games to be held in our capital,” the diplomat said at the podium. “This is a major event of particular importance. The world will be expecting a lot from us, and we intend not to disappoint.”
The opening ceremonies are set for Friday, July 26 along the Seine river, which runs through the heart of Paris.
Bastille Day has its origins in two key events in French history: the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, and, one year later, Fête de la Fédération. Today, the holiday stands of as a symbol of a Republic founded on the principles of democracy, said the ambassador, who ended his remarks with: “Vive la Francophonie Canadienne, vive la République, vive la France.”To mark the day, the iconic Ottawa sign in the ByWard Market was lit up in France's colours of blue, white and red. Elsewhere, there were celebrations organized by consulates and French associations throughout Canada, including in Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton and the Atlantic Provinces.The timing of the embassy's festivities, from early to late evening, provided a break from the scorching summer temperatures, and made things a little more comfortable for guests in business suits, ties, and uniforms. The streamers hanging from branches, seen fluttering in the light breeze, were a nice touch.
Retired career diplomat Gabriel Lessard and his wife, Corinne, seen relaxing and soaking it all in during the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsSpotted in the crowd was Canada’s retiring top soldier, Gen. Wayne Eyre, and many members of the local diplomatic corp, including U.S. Ambassador David Cohen with his wife, Rhonda. If there was a gold medal for most festive attire, it’d have been won by Gabriel Lessard and his wife, Corinne. Lessard is a retired career diplomat who served as Canadian ambassador to Vietnam and Ethiopia. Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa executive chef and cuisine instructor Yannick Anton, who was recently honoured at the embassy with France's highest honour for promoting its culture in Canada, was seen working at the party with Le Cordon Bleu pastry chef instructor Beatrice Dupasquier and cuisine instructor Yann Le Coz. Le Cordon Bleu, which is based in Paris, was a sponsor of the event. Its cuisine and pastry instructors in Ottawa all have Michelin-star experience and are originally from France.From left, Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa instructors Vincent Koperski, Arnaud DeClercq, Yann Le Coz, General Manager Victoria Lehman, Beatrice Dupasquier, Yannick Anton and Christophe Sportellini at the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline Phillips.French Ambassador Michel Miraillet, and his wife, Geneviève Quenum-Miraillet, with their daughter, Camille Miraillet, at the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsCanada's outgoing chief of defence staff, Gen. Wayne Eyre, with KPMG's Grant McDonald, global sector leader for aerospace and defence, at the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsMarjolaine Hudon (fifth from left), outgoing regional president of RBC, with husband John McCourt, celebrated Bastille Day with close family at the garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline Phillips
From major sponsor RBC was outgoing regional president Marjolaine Hudon. She was surrounded by many members of her family, eager to show them a peek at the more fun side of her job. She also invited Stéphane Brutus, dean of the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. Hudon is a member of the Telfer's Strategic Leadership Cabinet, where she joins key national business leaders in its mission to build a better Canada. The two have known each other for years, having both grown up in Montreal. Hudon is also friends with the dean's sister, Isabelle, whom he brought along.“I wanted to show her the best of Ottawa,” said Brutus, who, as a first-time attendee, was left impressed by the hospitality. "It's a very classy event, and such a beautiful setting along the river."
The ambassador's residence is located in New Edinburgh on Sussex Drive, near Rideau Falls. The magnificent building served as the striking backdrop for the party. Even more so later in the evening, when it was bathed in France's blue, white and red colours.
Stéphane Brutus, dean of the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, attended the Bastille Day garden party as a guest of RBC outgoing regional president Marjolaine Hudon. Photo by Caroline PhillipsFrom left, invited guests Francine Belleau, Jill Dickinson (CKL Properties), Dave Dickinson (PRIME Benefits Group), Dr. Claudine Michaud and Dr. Adnan Hadziomerovic at the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsFrench Ambassador Michel Miraillet seen mingling with guests during the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsFrom left, Ottawa city councillor Rawlson King (Rideau-Rockcliffe Ward) with Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs at the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsFrom left, Glenn Sheen, regional director of marketing and citizenship at RBC, with Isabelle Brutus and Stéphane Brutus, dean of the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, and Ottawa Liberal MP Mona Fortier (Ottawa-Vanier) at the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsMicheline McElligott — decked out at the Bastille Day embassy garden party in blue, white and red — and her husband, Robert McElligott, are the owners and developers of the Lac Saint Sixte exclusive cottage community in Quebec. Photo by Caroline PhillipsFrom left, Grant McDonald, managing partner at KPMG in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean and the firm's global sector leader of aerospace and defence, and his wife, Carol Devenny, chief financial officer for Equality Fund, with Sandra Assaly and Stephen Assaly, at the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsAn estimated 1,300 to 1,400 guests attended the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsFrom left, Jacques Shore, law partner at Gowling WLG, and his wife, Dr. Donna Shore, with Frank Marchetti, deputy head of mission for the Embassy of France to Canada, at its Bastille Day garden party on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsFrom left, Melanie Brulée, executive director with the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, and OMIC board member Kwende Kefentse, seen with Aurélie Marié from Réseau Ontario, and Valentine Renaud, chargée de mission culture at the Embassy of France in Canada, at its Bastille Day garden party, held Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsFrom left, Greg Kane, counsel at Dentons, with French Ambassador Michel Miraillet, Hungarian Ambassador Mária Vass-Salazar, and Graeme Kane, a realtor at Keller Williams Integrity Realty, at the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsIt was a beautiful evening for the estimated 1,300 to 1,400 guests that attended the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsSimon Theorêt at the Bastille Day garden party with his wife, Marie Anik Desmarais, who, after some 50 years in the fashion industry, made the decision to retire and close her beloved Anik Boutique in Ottawa. Photo by Caroline PhillipsFrom left, Thore Groev and his wife, Greek Ambassador Ekaterina Dimakis, alongside U.S. Ambassador David Cohen and his wife, Rhonda Cohen, at the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsThe Bastille Day fireworks display featured France's colours of blue, white and red. Photo by Caroline PhillipsFrom left, RBC Wealth Management senior investment counsellor Janet McKeage, chair of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation board, and Dentons associate Julia Dales at the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsFrom left, culinary expert, business protocol and etiquette instructor Margaret Dickenson, the Fairmont Château Laurier's Laurence Schaller, Sylvie Bragard, president of UFE (Union des Français de l’Étranger) Ottawa-Gatineau, Sylvie Genereux (Global Affairs Canada) and Marc Bouquet, also with Château Laurier, at the Bastille Day garden party hosted by the Embassy of France on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline PhillipsThe official residence of the French ambassador was bathed in France's blue, white and red colours at the Bastille Day garden party it hosted on Sunday, July 14, 2024. Photo by Caroline Phillips
caroline@obj.ca
Get our email newsletters
Get up-to-date news about the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Ottawa and beyond.