Bastille Day; Paris Saint-Germain Ushers in a New French Revolution

July 14 is a celebration in France every year honoring the storming of the Bastille in 1789. The storming of the Bastille was the beginning of the French Revolution that brought about an end to the monarchy. It sent a message to King Louis XVI that his power was no longer absolute over the people.

Fast forward 223 years, and another French revolution is taking place. This time, the stage is the world of soccer. The message is being sent to the rest of Europe from Paris Saint-Germain. A French club will be a contender in Europe.

It was known from the day the Qatari investment group took control of the club that PSG would be built into a top club. While many accepted this would eventually come to pass, few could have predicted how quickly the club would become a true challenger for Champions League glory.

Last summers dealings brought a solid foundation in players like Kevin Gameiro, Blaise Matuidi, and Jeremy Menez. It also brought a budding star in Javier Pastore. Many wrote off the Pastore signing as an exception. The reasoning for his arrival in Paris was due to the money more than anything else, in some peoples' eyes.

Many argued that the top talents in the world would not go to Paris, because they would not compete for Europe. A popular thought was PSG would overpay for a team of mid-level talent that could dominate Ligue 1 but not challenge the likes of Barcelona or Manchester United in Europe.

Paris Saint-Germain put that thought to bed with a potential mind numbing double swoop for AC Milan's extraordinary duo Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva. The move is putting PSG fans in a euphoric state, AC Milan fans depressed, and the rest of the soccer world stunned.

The addition of these two star players will push PSG into the European contenders conversation.

Including the early summer capture of Ezequiel Lavezzi, the Parisian outfit will have stocked their cupboard with tremendous talent. The other key is the experience all three players bring in Champions League and International competition.

As if this were not enough to move them towards the upper echelon of European clubs, reports have PSG still interested in Tottenham's Luka Modric. While beating competition like Real Madrid for Modric's signature will be difficult, his addition would make an already stellar attack downright scary.

There are still some potential weaknesses on the back four that could use an upgrade. One has to think that Leonardo is still doing some shopping and will address these shortcomings. We are halfway through the summer transfer season, and PSG has put the rest of Europe on notice.

The French Revolution is here.