Le bal des pompiers: partying with the firefighters

A tradition that apparently started in the thirties (in Montmartre, which is a quarter in Paris near where I live now) Bastille Day is marked by a number of Bals des pompiers...meaning the ball (like party, so get your mind off the gutter for once) of the firemen/firefighters. These parties are highly popular and everyone can attend (for a fee, for instance for 6 euros you get in and get one free beer at the many stands that they set up in the caserne (caserne = fire station where firemen keep their trucks and stuff and where they sleep, eat and do whatever when they are on duty). The parties of certain casernes of Paris have become highly legendary that the queue to get in may snake several blocks away and 4 to 5 persons deep! This is the night when you could flirt with your heros (Parisian firemen are synonymous with heros) about whom you might have your wildest sexual fantasies (Generally, the firemen flirt with girls who flirt back that night in ways that would shame the most experienced gay man! But that is in public, in private, gay guys may just have as much as chance if not more lol).
My favorite is the one in the 4th arrondissement (rue de Séviggné) smacked in the gay area of Paris. After queueing for a while (and I mean it could be a very long while, but you could already admire the firemen who hang about assuring the security of everyone) and finally in the caserne, prepare yourself for body to body crowd either dancing, talking or just standing around admiring the beautiful caserne and the even more beautiful people who live in it (like many building in le Marais, the caserne of the 4th arrondissement is a beautiful old stone building with a big yard in the middle. This well-maintained building was even featured on a documentary on national television). On stage that is set up in the yard of the caserne, you might even see a group of firemen playing musical instruments and sing (No, you would not probably buy their CD, but for one night we indulge and applaud the heros on stage especially since they are feasts for the eyes!). Other bands may take over and give a real showto party goers. In another part (there is a smaller yard right after the entrance), there is music with DJ. The best moment comes much later usually. Around 3 am, certain firemen would go up on stage and dance to the piped in music and they might even do a striptease for you ! The night I went, they did strip off their shirt (not their pants, or the mystery would cease to exist I guess) while dancing like real disco queens or kings. Funnily, they never forgot to shout «This is for the girls» (just before they take their shirt off). But of course, many of the spectators are gay men from the hood or from all around Paris that come to this caserne because it is in the gay area. These men (ok, including me) would be the ones shouting «Take it all off !» the whole time the firemen are on stage. You should know that Paris’ firemen tend to be young, beautiful with a body to die for (they are, unlike the rest of France, REAL firemen who belong to the military corps I think).
The party would last all night, and the pompiers would by then be found on stage, behind bars (serving you drinks with a smile) or maybe snogging some girls (don’t know about boys, but again, we are in public here, they would not have shown their interest, if that is the case, in public). There would also be soldiers, French and foreign, who might have participated in the Bastille day parade that day, still in their uniform and looking completely sexy and in search of sex.
So, if you happen to be in Paris mid july, reserve the 13th or the 14th to attend these balls..
For those interested in history, as I said in the beginning the balls started in the Montmartre area of Paris....apparently the pompiers used to invite family and friends to the caserne on the 14th of july...there was food and orchestra etc which apparently attracted non relatives, neighbors or friends who started knocking on the doors of the caserne...this way, began the tradition of le bal des pompiers....
At the ball of this year, the caserne at rue Sévigné decided to do away with admission fee (you instead contribute however much you want) and since I went in the night of the 14th the line was actually shorter than usual (many people work on the 15th I guess. The ball in this caserne is held both the nights of the 13th and the 14th). Still, the ambiance is just great. You see people of all ages. For the first time I even saw a transvestite there (conversing with a very good looking fireman no less). Marines, legionnaires and other military units from France and other countries could also be found there having fun, drinking, dancing and ........