Storming of the Bastille 1789
Many Parisians presumed Louis's actions to be the start of a royal action against the Assembly and began open rebellion when they heard the news the next day. They were also afraid that arriving soldiers—mostly foreign mercenaries—had been summoned to shut down the National Constituent Assembly. The Assembly, meeting at Versailles, went into nonstop session to prevent eviction from their meeting place once again. Paris was soon consumed by riots, chaos, and widespread looting. The mobs soon had the support of some of the French Guard, who were armed and trained soldiers.
On 14 July, the insurgents set their eyes on the large weapons and ammunition cache inside the Bastille fortress, which was also perceived to be a symbol of royal power. After several hours of combat, the prison fell that afternoon. Despite ordering a cease fire, which prevented a mutual massacre, Governor Marquis Bernard de Launay was beaten, stabbed and decapitated; his head was placed on a pike and paraded about the city. Although the fortress had held only seven prisoners (four forgers, two noblemen kept for immoral behavior, and a murder suspect), the Bastille served as a potent symbol of everything hated under the Ancien Régime. Women's March on Versailles 1789
Fueled by rumors of a reception for the King's bodyguards on 1 October 1789 at which the national cockade had been trampled upon, on 5 October 1789 crowds of women began to assemble at Parisian markets. The women first marched to the Hôtel de Ville, demanding that city officials address their concerns.The women were responding to the harsh economic situations they faced, especially bread shortages. They also demanded an end to royal efforts to block the National Assembly, and for the King and his administration to move to Paris as a sign of good faith in addressing the widespread poverty. Getting unsatisfactory responses from city officials, as many as 7,000 women joined the march to Versailles, bringing with them cannons and a variety of smaller weapons. Twenty thousand National Guardsmen under the command of La Fayette responded to keep order, and members of the mob stormed the palace, killing several guards.La Fayette ultimately convinced the king to accede to the demand of the crowd that the monarchy relocate to Paris. Royal flight to Varennes 1791
Louis XVI, opposed the Revolution, but rejecting the potentially treacherous aid of the other monarchs of Europe left him with General Bouillé who promised him refuge and support in his camp at Montmédy. On the night of 20 June 1791 the royal family fled the Tuileries Palace wearing the clothes of servants, while their servants dressed as nobles.
However, late the next day, the King was recognised and arrested at Varennes. He and his family were brought back to Paris under guard, still dressed as servants. Pétion, Latour-Maubourg, and Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie Barnave, representing the Assembly, met the royal family at Épernay and returned with them. From this time, Barnave became a counselor and supporter of the royal family. When they reached Paris, the crowd remained silent. The Assembly suspended the King. He and Queen Marie Antoinette remained held under guard. War on the Vendee 1793
In Vendée, peasants revolted against the French Nobles in 1793. They resented the changes imposed on the Roman Catholic Church broke into open revolt in defiance of the Revolutionary government's military conscription.This became a guerrilla war, known as the War in the Vendée.The revolt and its suppression (including both combat casualties and massacres and executions on both sides) are thought to have taken between 117 000 and 250 000 lives (170 000 according to the latest estimates). The Rebels later accused the the French Nobles of genocide. Completing the Constitution 1797-1798
As most of the Assembly still favoured a constitutional monarchy rather than a republic, the various groups reached a compromise which left Louis XVI as little more than a figurehead: he had perforce to swear an oath to the constitution, and a decree declared that retracting the oath, heading an army for the purpose of making war upon the nation.
Jacques Pierre Brissot drafted a petition, insisting that in the eyes of the nation Louis XVI was deposed since his flight. An immense crowd gathered in the Champ de Mars to sign the petition. and Camille Desmoulins gave fiery speeches. The Assembly called for the municipal authorities to "preserve public order". The National Georges Danton Guard under La Fayette's command confronted the crowd. The soldiers responded to a barrage of stones by firing into the crowd, thus killing between thirteen and fifty people.
End Result: The National Assembly writes a new constitution. Much of the power given to intellectuals. Five-man directory formed. Army again under control of the Paris government. Other countries still threaten France for fear of spreading revolution.