The Flight to Varennes (June 20-21, 1791) was a significant episode in the French Revolution during which King Louis XVI of France and his immediate family were unsuccessful in their attempt to escape from the radical agitation of the Jacobins in Paris disguised as Russian aristocrats. Their destination was the fortress town of Montmédy in northeastern France, a Royalist stronghold from which the King hoped to initiate a counter-revolution. This represented a turning point after which popular hostility towards the monarchy as an institution, as well as towards Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette as individuals, became more pronounced. They were only able to make it as far as Varennes. is the 171st day of the year (172nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1791 (MDCCXCI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... Louis XVI, born Louis-Auguste de France (23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792. ... It has been suggested that Jacobin/Sandbox be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... Montmédy is a commune of the Meuse département, in northeastern France. ... A counterrevolutionary is anyone who opposes a revolution, particularly those who act after a revolution to try to overturn or reverse it, in full or in part. ... Louis XVI, born Louis-Auguste de France (23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Varennes or Varennes-en-Argonne is a city in the French département of Meuse. ...

Attempt to flee Paris

The return of the royal family to Paris on June 25th, 1791, colored copperplate after a drawing of Jean-Louis Prieur

Louis's indecision on how to deal with revolutionary demands was one of the causes of the forcible transfer of the royal family from Palace of Versailles to the Tuileries in Paris on October 6, 1789 after Versailles had been attacked by an angry mob. Thenceforward he seems to have become emotionally paralyzed, leaving most important decisions to the politically untrained queen to make on her own. Prodded by the queen, Louis committed himself and his family to a disastrous attempt to escape from the capital to the eastern frontier on June 21, 1791. With the dauphin's governess, the Marquise de Tourzel taking on the role of a Russian baroness, the queen and the king's sister Madame Élisabeth playing her maids, the king her butler, and the royal children her daughters, the royal family made their escape. The escape was largely planned by Count Axel von Fersen and the Baron de Breteuil. Due to the cumulative effect of a host of errors which in and of themselves would not have condemned the mission to failure, the royal family was recognized by his picture on a bill and stopped in the revolutionary town of Varennes, not far from its ultimate destination, the heavily fortified royalist citadel of Montmédy. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 701 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1400 × 1198 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 701 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1400 × 1198 pixel, file size: 2. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Tuileries Palace before 1871 - View from the Louvre courtyard The Tuileries Palace stood in Paris, France, on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed. ... is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1789 (MDCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... Map of the Palace at the outbreak of the French Revolution The Kings bedchamber, where the family hid at Versailles The March on Versailles was an event in the French Revolution. ... is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1791 (MDCCXCI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Louise-Elisabeth, Marquise de Tourzel (1749 - 1830) A French aristocrat and courtier. ... Élisabeth Philippine Marie Hélène of France (May 3, 1764 – May 10, 1794), commonly called Madame Élisabeth, was a French princess, the daughter of Louis, dauphin de France and Marie-Josèphe of Saxony and the younger sister of King Louis XVI. Élisabeth was born at Versailles in 1764. ... Count Axel von Fersen, dressed in the robes of a Swedish Privy Councilor, with the Knights Commander chains of the Royal Orders of the Seraphim and that of the Sword around his neck. ... Louis-Auguste le Tonnelier Louis-Auguste le Tonnelier, baron de Breteuil, baron de Preuilly (March 7, 1730 – November 2, 1807) was a French aristocrat, statesman and politician. ... Varennes or Varennes-en-Argonne is a city in the French département of Meuse. ... Montmédy is a commune of the Meuse département, in northeastern France. ...

Consequences

When the royal family finally returned under guard to Paris, the revolutionary crowd met the royal carriage with uncharacteristic silence. The royal family was immediately placed under house arrest back at the Tuileries Palace. From this point forward, the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic became an ever increasing possibility. The credibility of the king as a constitutional monarch had been seriously undermined by the escape attempt. In justice and law, house arrest is the situation where a person is confined (by the authorities) to his or her residence. ... Tuileries Palace before 1871 - View from the Louvre courtyard The Tuileries Palace stood in Paris, France, on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed. ... For the documentary series, see Monarchy (TV series). ... Look up republic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

From the autumn of 1791 on, the king tied his hopes of political salvation to the dubious prospects of foreign intervention. At the same time, he encouraged the Girondin faction in the Legislative Assembly in their policy of war with Austria, in the expectation that a French military disaster would pave the way for the restoration of his royal authority. Prompted by Marie Antoinette, Louis rejected the advice of the moderate constitutionalists, led by Antoine Barnave, to fully implement the Constitution of 1791, which he had sworn to maintain, and committed himself instead to a policy of covert counter-revolution. The Girondists (in French Girondins, and sometimes Brissotins or Baguettes), were a political faction in France within the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention during the French Revolution. ... During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from October 1, 1791 to September 1792. ... Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France and Archduchess of Austria (born November 1755 – executed 16 October 1793) Daughter of Maria Theresa of Austria, wife of Louis XVI and mother of Louis XVII. She was guillotined at the height of the French Revolution. ... Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie Barnave (October 22, 1761—November 29, 1793), was a French politician, and, together with Honoré Mirabeau, the most influential orators of the French Revolution. ...

The outbreak of the war with Austria in April 1792 and the publication of a manifesto by the Austrian commander, Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, threatening the destruction of Paris if the safety of the royal family was again endangered, led to the storming of the Tuileries by Parisian radicals on August 10, 1792. This attack led in turn to the suspension of the king's powers by the Legislative Assembly and the proclamation of the First French Republic on September 21. In November, proof of Louis XVI's secret dealings with the deceased revolutionary politician, Mirabeau, and of his counterrevolutionary intrigues with foreigners was found in a secret cupboard in the Tuileries. It was now no longer possible to pretend that the reforms of the French Revolution had been made with the free consent of the king. Some Republicans called for his deposition, others for his trial for alleged treason and intended defection to the enemies of the French people. On December 3 it was decided that Louis, who together with his family had been imprisoned since August, should be brought to trial for treason. He himself appeared twice before the National Convention (December 11 and 23). This article needs cleanup. ... Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick (October 9, 1735 - November 10, German general, was born at Wolfenbüttel. ... On August 10, 1792, during the French Revolution, a mob – with the backing of a new municipal government of Paris that came to be known as the insurrectionary Paris Commune – besieged the Tuileries palace. ... is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from October 1, 1791 to September 1792. ... The French people proclaimed Frances First Republic on 21 September 1792 as a result of the French Revolution and of the abolition of the French monarchy. ... Portrait of Mirabeau Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau (often referred to simply as Mirabeau; March 9, 1749 – April 2, 1791) was a French writer, popular orator and statesman. ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, with an emphasis on liberty, rule by the people, and the civic virtue practiced by citizens. ... This article is about the legislative body and constitutional convention during the French Revolution. ...

Convicted, Louis was guillotined on January 21, 1793. Later, Marie Antoinette was also convicted of treason and beheaded nine months after her husband on October 16. is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1793 (MDCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

The article also draws material from the out-of-copyright History of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1814, by François Mignet (1824), as made available by Project Gutenberg. 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive and distribute cultural works. ...

• Lindqvist, Herman (1991). Axel von Fersen. Stockholm: Fischer & Co
• Loomis, Stanley (1972). The Fatal Friendship. Avon Books - ISBN 0931933331
• Timothy Tackett, When the King Took Flight (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003)

External links

Primary sources

• The Flight to Varennes • Memoir by the Duchesse d'Angoulême