French Playing Card Game: "Bastille"

Playing cards were originally from China. The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt adopted playing cards by at least the 1300s. The use of playing cards spread to the Iberian Peninsula by the late 1300s with the invasion of Moorish forces. From the Iberian Peninsula, playing cards were introduced to the rest of Europe.

The French developed the four suits that are used internationally: "trefles" are clubs, "carreaux" are diamonds, "coeurs" are hearts and "piques" are spades. Because these suits required only two colors, black and red, the French were able to produce their decks more inexpensively than either Spanish or German suits. The French system spread to many parts of the world.

This deck of playing cards celebrates the historic events of the French Revolution, specifically the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. The cards feature bold red backs and standard suits, with each card displaying a different revolutionary figure or symbol. As the designers of the cards wrote in a pamphlet that accompanied the new cards, they wanted to reinforce the principles of the revolution in such everyday items as playing cards. The traditional designs had had face or "court" cards depicting Kings, Queens, and Jacks who were the beneficiaries of the old privileged political order which had just been overthrown. It seemed obvious to them that a new design even for such mundane things as playing cards was required under the Republic to reflect the new principles of government.
Source:
https://oll.libertyfund.org/page/images-of-liberty-and-power-playing-cards-french-republic-1793-94
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French-suited_playing_cards
http://www.wopc.co.uk/france