- French National Anthem
- Flight to Varennes
- Execution of the Monarchs
- Reign of Terror
- September Massacres
- Change, change and more change!
French National Anthem
Although the national anthem was adopted in 1795, it was written in 1792 in the midst of war and revolution.
This period ended the rule of the moderates. The radicals, people such as Marat and Robespierre, wanted a blank slate, a new system for the country. This did not include either Louis and Marie-Antoinette, and their failed escape helped the radicals decide what should happen to them…
The Flight to Varennes
- Although this event is not as important as war against Austria, it may have lived in the memory of many French people as an act of disloyalty or treason to the nation.
- Marie-Antoinette was terrified of what the revolutionaries would do, she had been since the March to Versailles. As a result, she had advised her husband to find ways to overturn the revolution. One of these was to get support from other European monarchs to help, they could use military force to do so.
- However, according to historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, the key reason why Louis XVI chose to overturn the revolution was because of his faith. The Catholic Church had been virtually destroyed, its power taken away, religious figures persecuted and buildings seized. As a man who believed in the divine right of kings, this was unacceptable. The National Assembly had gone too far.
- Moreover, the Pope had threatened to excommunicate Louis XVI if he continued to accept the revolution and its demand to reduce the influence of the church in France.
- There are several reasons why the escape failed but one is that Louis and Marie-Antoinette failed to realise how significant the danger was. For example, they were told by one of their advisors to travel low-key and in separate carriages. But they insisted on travelling together and with their children, nannies and a few bodyguards. As a result, the carriage (called a ‘Berlin’) they had built looked like this but in black:
- The size of the escaping group was 11 people, this may draw attention as they travel through France.
- Unfortunately for Louis, he had written a letter explaining that he did not agree with anything the revolutionaries were doing. He had only compromised with them (agreeing to be a constitutional monarch) because he thought it would only be a temporary agreement, eventually he would regain his position as an absolute monarch of France.
- This was very important as many French people had been loyal to him because of his willingness to compromise. They had had no desire to remove him.
- The Flight to Varennes changes all of this.
Watch from 25:00 to 32:00. How do you think people will react once they discover:
a. Louis XVI tried to escape the country?
b. The contents of his letter?
War against France
(Brinton, C. page 129)
- Although France started the war (they feared that foreign powers would stop their revolution) it put the country into further crisis. It led to the executions of the monarchs and the September Massacres.
The Executions of the Monarchs
- Marie-Antoinette had faced huge criticism from a growing number of French people in the 1770s and 1780s. These included:
- She was having affairs with several other men, she was not having sexual relations with Louis (and therefore not having children) was the evidence they used against her.
- She lived a life of extravagance, spending vast amounts of money whilst the people were poor.
- Sexual and abusive images of her were printed in Paris and spread across the city.
- She was not French but Austrian.
BUT
- She did not follow all the rules of the Versailles court, she did not behave exactly as she was expected to. Marie-Antoinette believed in France moving forward and the laws of nature. As a result, some of the court advisors spread rumours about her, worsening her image.
- It was easier to blame the foreigner than the French king.
- Marie-Antoinette was told not to visit Paris in the 1780s because of the dangers she faced. Consequently, she did not go outside of Versailles and therefore did not know about the real problems facing the population.
- She never said ‘let them eat cake‘.
The Reign of Terror
- The revolutionaries in France wanted to purify the Revolution. This meant getting rid of all the enemies of the Revolution, especially when the country is at war with foreign powers who want to stop it too.
- The Committee of Public Safety (CPS) was set up in 1793 to ‘cleanse’ the Republic of its enemies inside France. There were some in the country who wanted a return to a monarchy or an end to the war and even defected…
so there were ‘enemies within’ which had to be dealt with.
- The role of the CPS was to police the country and manage the war. But when Maximilien Robespierre became its leader, it became a much more powerful organisation, one that used force to govern. Arguably, they were to blame for the Reign of Terror.
The September Massacres
Change, change and more change!
The 12 Months of the French Republican Calendar
