A short series of readings to celebrate Bastille Day. Unless noted, all are taken from The French Revolution: Voices from a Momentous Epoch 1789-1795 (eds. Richard Cobb and Colin Jones).
July 12, 1789 (Sunday). M. Necker, the king's popular minister, was dismissed on Saturday afternoon, leading the way, it seems, for a royalist counterattack against the defiant Third Estate of the Estates General (now calling itself The National Assembly). Troops are said to be descending on Paris; the city's population is stirring.
Camille Desmoulins to his father:
"Paris was aghast at the dismissal of M. Necker; no-one would take up arms in spite of my efforts to galvanize people into action. About three o'clock I went to the Palais-Royal; I was deploring our lack of courage to a group of people when three young men came by, holding hands and shouting Aux armes! I joined them, my enthusiasm quite obvious; I was surrounded and pressed to climb up on a table: there were immediately six thousand people around me.
I was bursting with hundreds of ideas, and spoke without thought: 'Aux armes', I cried, 'Aux armes! Let us all wear cockades'. I grabbed a ribbon and pinned it to my hat. My actions spread like wildfire! Sound of the tumult reached the camp; the Cravates, the Swiss, the Dragoons, the Royal-Allemand all arrived. The prince Lambesc, heading the latter, entered the Tuileries on horseback. He personally cut down an unarmed Garde Francais with his sword, and knocked over women and children. The crowd became wild with anger. And then there was a single cry across Paris: Aux armes!"
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"It is said that on 12 July, the duc de Liancourt having gone to Versailles to report to the King on the disturbances in Paris, was asked by him: 'So, this is a revolt?' to which the duke replied, 'No Sire, this is a revolution!'"
Posted by Alan Allport at July 12, 2004 05:50 AM