Varennes + Champ de Mars

• June 1791, King had a hard situation:

  • Prisoner in the Tuileries
  • Deepest convictions challenged by Civil Constitution of the Clergy
  • Prevented from visiting Saint-Cloud palace, a yearly family ritual in April 1791.
• King and Queen in contact with emigre nobles wanting to restore him to the throne.
• Leopold II of Austria provided an Austrian army on the border and it was arranged the Royal family would flee.
• Escape on the 21st June 1791, delayed departure and too large a carriage was too obvious, army had left the border.
• Louis was recognised and National Assembly representatives came to escort the family back to Paris, DISGRACE TO THE PEOPLE!
• Caused...

  • Temporary suspension in July 1791
• Champ de Mars demonstration:

  • Organised by the Cordeliers
  • People signing petition for republic establishment
  • Stones thrown at National Guards following Lafayette's attempt to disperse the crowd.
  • Guards fired on the crowd, 50 dead.
  • Radicals saw it as a betrayal of the moderates, dubbed a massacre
• How many people died in the Champ de Mars massacre?

  50
• Consequences of Champ de Mars:

  • Political Clubs shut down
  • Creation of the Feuillant club - Lafayette broke away determined to deescalate the revolution