1) The medieval fortress, armory, and political prison in Paris known as the Bastille represented royal authority in the centre of Paris. The prison CONTAINED just seven inmates at the time of its storming, but was seen by the revolutionaries as a symbol of the monarchy's abuses of POWER; its fall was the flashpoint of the French Revolution

2) On the morning of 14 July 1789, the city of Paris was in a state of alarm. The king had commanded troops to move into the city. Rumours spread that he would soon order the army to open fire upon the citizens. Some 7,000 men and women gathered in front of the town hall and decided to form a people’s militia. They broke into a number of government BUILDINGS in search of arms. Finally, a group of SEVERAL hundred people marched towards the eastern part of the city and stormed the fortress-prison, the Bastille, where they hoped to FIND hoarded ammunition. In the armed fight that followed, the commander of the Bastille was killed and the prisoners were released.