France's event calendar is packed with festivals, cultural celebrations, and global gatherings.
* **Bastille Day (La Fête Nationale):** July 14. Celebrated with military parades (notably on the Champs-Élysées), fireworks, and firefighters' balls (*bals des pompiers*). * **Fête de la Musique:** June 21. A nationwide street music festival celebrating the summer solstice. * **Cannes Film Festival:** May. The world's most prestigious film festival, held on the French Riviera. * **Nice Carnival:** February. One of the world's major carnival events, featuring massive parades and flower battles. * **Nuit des Musées & Journées du Patrimoine:** Annual weekends where museums and historical sites are opened to the public, often for free.
