56 The March on Versailles

22.3.5: The March on Versailles

Concerned over the high price and scarcity of bread, women from the marketplaces of Paris led the March on Versailles on October 5, 1789.  This became one of the most significant events of the French Revolution, eventually forcing the royals to return to Paris.

Learning Objective

Describe the March on Versailles

Key Points

  • The Women’s March on Versailles was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution. On the morning of October 5, 1789, women were near rioting in the Paris marketplace over the high price and scarcity of bread. Their demonstrations quickly became intertwined with the activities of revolutionaries, who were seeking liberal political reforms and a constitutional monarchy for France.
  • At the end of the Ancien Régime, the fear of famine became an ever-present dread for the lower strata of the Third Estate. Rumors swirled that foods, especially grain, were purposely withheld from the poor for the benefit of the privileged. While the march turned into a more general revolutionary upsurge, this fear remained at its roots.
  • Despite its post-revolutionary mythology, the march was not a spontaneous event. Speakers at the Palais-Royal mentioned it regularly, but the final trigger was a royal banquet on October 1 at which the officers at Versailles welcomed the officers of new troops, a customary practice when a unit changed its garrison. The lavish banquet was reported in newspapers as nothing short of a gluttonous orgy, which outraged the commoners.
  • On the morning of October 5, a young woman struck a marching drum at the edge of a group of market women who were infuriated by the chronic shortage and high price of bread. As more and more women and men arrived, the crowd grew to more than 7,000 individuals. One of the men was Stanislas-Marie Maillard, a prominent conqueror of the Bastille who by unofficial acclamation was given a leadership role.
  • Although the fighting ceased quickly and the royal troops had cleared the palace attacked by the revolutionaries, the crowd was still everywhere outside. Lafayette convinced the king and later the queen to address the crowd, which calmed the participants of the march. However, the revolutionaries forced the royals to return to Paris.
  • As a result of the march, the monarchist faction in the Assembly effectively lost its significance,  Robespierre raised his public profile considerably, Lafayette found himself tied too closely to the king; Maillard returned to Paris with his status as a local hero made permanent. For the women of Paris, the march became the climax of revolutionary hagiography. The royals were effectively trapped in Paris.

Key Terms

Pacte de Famine
A conspiracy theory adopted by many in France during the 18th century. The theory held that foods, especially grain, were purposely withheld for the benefit of privileged interest groups. During this period, French citizens obtained much of their nourishment from grain.
flight to Varennes
An attempted escape from Paris during the night of June 20-21, 1791 by King Louis XVI of France, his queen Marie Antoinette, and their immediate family in order to initiate a counter-revolution at the head of loyal troops under royalist officers concentrated at Montmédy near the frontier.
Great Fear
A general panic that took place between July 17 and August 3, 1789, at the start of the French Revolution. Rural unrest had been present in France since the worsening grain shortage of the spring. Fueled by rumors of an aristocratic “famine plot” to starve or burn out the population, both peasants and townspeople mobilized in many regions.
March on Versailles
Taking place on October 5, 1789, one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution. Women in the marketplaces of Paris were near rioting over the high price and scarcity of bread. Their demonstrations quickly became intertwined with the activities of revolutionaries, who were seeking liberal political reforms and a constitutional monarchy for France.
National Assembly
A revolutionary assembly that existed from June 13 to July 9, 1789, and was formed by the representatives of the Third Estate (the common people) of the Estates-General.

 

March on Versailles: Background

The Women’s March on Versailles, also known as The October March, The October Days, or simply The March on Versailles, was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution. On the morning of October 5, 1789, women in the marketplaces of Paris were near rioting over the high price and scarcity of bread. Their demonstrations quickly became intertwined with the activities of revolutionaries seeking liberal political reforms and a constitutional monarchy for France.

At the end of the Ancien Régime, the fear of famine became an ever-present dread for the lower strata of the Third Estate. Rampant rumors of a conspiracy theory held that foods, especially grain, were purposely withheld from the poor for the benefit of the privileged (the Pacte de Famine). Stories of a plot to destroy wheat crops in order to starve the population provoked the so-called Great Fear in the summer of 1789.

Despite its post-revolutionary mythology, the march was not a spontaneous event. Speakers at the Palais-Royal mentioned it regularly and the idea of a march on Versailles had been widespread. The final trigger came from a royal banquet held on October 1 at which the officers at Versailles welcomed the officers of new troops, a customary practice when a unit changed its garrison. The royal family briefly attended the affair. The lavish banquet was reported in newspapers as nothing short of a gluttonous orgy. Worst of all, the papers dwelt scornfully on the reputed desecration of the tricolor cockade; drunken officers were said to have stamped upon this symbol of the nation and professed their allegiance solely to the white cockade of the House of Bourbon. This embellished tale of the royal banquet became the source of intense public outrage.

 

The Day of the March

On the morning of October 5, a young woman struck a marching drum at the edge of a group of market women who were infuriated by the chronic shortage and high price of bread. From their starting point in the markets of the eastern section of Paris, the angry women forced a nearby church to toll its bells. More women from other nearby marketplaces joined in, many bearing kitchen blades and other makeshift weapons. As more women and men arrived, the crowd outside the city hall reached between 6,000 and 7,0000 and perhaps as high as 10,000. One of the men was Stanislas-Marie Maillard, a prominent conqueror of the Bastille, who by unofficial acclamation was given a leadership role.

When the crowd finally reached Versailles, members of the National Assembly greeted the marchers and invited Maillard into their hall. As he spoke, the restless Parisians came pouring into the Assembly and sank exhausted on the deputies’ benches. Hungry, fatigued, and bedraggled from the rain, they seemed to confirm that the siege was mostly a demand for food. With few other options available, the President of the Assembly, Jean Joseph Mounier, accompanied a deputation of market-women into the palace to see the king. A group of six women were escorted into the king’s apartment, where they told him of the crowd’s privations. The king responded sympathetically and after this brief but pleasant meeting, arrangements were made to disburse some food from the royal stores with more promised. Some in the crowd felt that their goals had been satisfactorily met.

However, at about 6 a.m., some of the protesters discovered a small gate to the palace was unguarded. Making their way inside, they searched for the queen’s bedchamber. The royal guards fired their guns at the intruders, killing a young member of the crowd. Infuriated, the rest surged towards the breach and streamed inside.

Although the fighting ceased quickly and the royal troops cleared the palace, the crowd was still everywhere outside. Lafayette (commander-in-chief of the National Guard), who had earned the court’s indebtedness, convinced the king to address the crowd. When the two men stepped out on a balcony an unexpected cry went up: “Vive le Roi!” The relieved king briefly conveyed his willingness to return to Paris. After the king withdrew, the exultant crowd would not be denied the same accord from the queen and her presence was demanded loudly. Lafayette brought her to the same balcony, accompanied by her young son and daughter. However pleased it may have been by the royal displays, the crowd insisted that the king come back with them to Paris. At about 1 p.m. on October 6, the vast throng escorted the royal family and a complement of 100 deputies back to the capital, this time with the armed National Guards leading the way.

An illustration of the Women’s March on Versailles, October 5, 1789, author unknown.

The march symbolized a new balance of power that displaced the ancient privileged orders of the French nobility and favored the nation’s common people, collectively termed the Third Estate. Bringing together people representing sources of the Revolution in their largest numbers yet, the march on Versailles proved to be a defining moment of that Revolution.=

 

Consequences of the March

The rest of the National Constituent Assembly followed the king within two weeks to new quarters in Paris, excepting 56 pro-monarchy deputies. Thus, the march effectively deprived the monarchist faction of significant representation in the Assembly as most of these deputies retreated from the political scene. Conversely, Robespierre’s impassioned defense of the march raised his public profile considerably. Lafayette, though initially acclaimed, found he had tied himself too closely to the king. As the Revolution progressed, he was hounded into exile by the radical leadership. Maillard returned to Paris with his status as a local hero made permanent. For the women of Paris, the march became the source of apotheosis in revolutionary hagiography. The “Mothers of the Nation” were highly celebrated upon their return and would be praised and solicited by successive Parisian governments for years to come.

Louis attempted to work within the framework of his limited powers after the women’s march but won little support, and he and the royal family remained virtual prisoners in the Tuileries. Desperate, he made his abortive flight to Varennes in June 1791. Attempting to escape and join with royalist armies, the king was once again captured by a mixture of citizens and national guardsmen who hauled him back to Paris.

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