 But this was the last occasion when a monarch presided at the midsummer bonfire in Paris.At Metz, midsummer fires were lighted with great pomp on the esplanade, and a dozen cats, enclosed in wicker cages, were burned alive in them, to the amusement of the people.Similarly at Gap, in the department of the Hautes-Alpes, cats used to be roasted over the midsummer bonfire."