10th of August (French Revolution)

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. King Louis XVI and the royal family took shelter with the Legislative Assembly. This proved to be the effective end of the French Monarchy (until it was restored in 1814). The formal end of the monarchy occurred six weeks later, as one of the first acts of business of the new Convention.

The demise of the National Assembly

Upon the arrival of the victorious insurgents, the Assembly instantly made a proclamation imploring the people to respect justice, their magistrates, the rights of man, liberty, and equality. But the multitude and their chiefs had all the power in their hands, and were determined to use it. The new municipality came to assert its imperious authority, preceded by three banners, inscribed with the words, "Patrie, liberté, egalité". They demanded the deposition of the king and the institution of a national convention. Deputations followed, all with the same demand.

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A shrunken remnant of the Legislative Assembly, almost all of them Jacobins, felt itself compelled to yield, but would not take upon itself the deposition of the king. Instead, at the initiative of Vergniaud, they unanimously voted measure to convoke the demanded national convention, dismiss the ministers, and suspend (but not depose) of the king.

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An ad hoc executive council was established. About four thousand non-juring priests were exiled. Commissioners were despatched to the armies to make sure of them. Louis XVI, to whom the Assembly had at first assigned the Luxembourg Palace as a residence, was transferred as a prisoner to the Temple, by the all-powerful commune, under the dubious pretext of his own safety.

Related Topics:
Luxembourg Palace - Temple

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