Louis XV of France

Louis XV (February 15, 1710 – May 10, 1774), called the Well-Beloved (French: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1715 to 1774. Miraculously surviving the death of his entire family, he was loved by the French at the beginning of his reign. However, in time, his inability to reform the French monarchy and his policy of appeasement on the European stage lost him the support of his people, and he died one of the most unpopular kings of France.

Assassination attempt

At home, discontent grew, fueled by the perceived political incompetence of the king and the spending spree of the court. As previously highlighted, modern historians have shown that the king was in fact not incompetent, albeit not resolute enough. The spending of the court was also not particularly high under Louis XV, at any rate not any higher than under previous French kings, and certainly much lower than in some other European courts, such as in Russia where Peter the Great and Empress Elizabeth spent enormous amounts of money to build palaces in and around Saint Petersburg. Court spending also helped to carry French arts to their zenith under Louis XV, and supported thousands of families of artists and craftsmen. French arts were admired and copied all over Europe, and even today, 250 years later, Louis XV style is still a favorite among the rich and famous around the world. Yet, at the time the French public certainly perceived a royal incompetence and spending spree, influenced as it was by a violent campaign of libels against the king and the Marquise de Pompadour starting in the mid-1740s.

Related Topics:
Peter the Great - Elizabeth - Saint Petersburg

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This is what may have inspired the assassination attempt on the king by Robert Damiens. On January 5, 1757, would-be assassin Damiens entered the Palace of Versailles, as did thousands of people every day to petition the king. At 6 p.m., as night had fallen on a cold Versailles covered in snow, the king, who was visiting his daughter, left her apartments to return to the Trianon where he was staying that day. As he was walking in the Marble Courtyard between two lines of guards lighting the way with torches, heading toward his carriage which was waiting at the edge of the Marble Courtyard, Damiens suddenly emerged from the night, passed through the guards, and stabbed the king in the side with a penknife. The 8.1 cm. (3.2 in.) blade entered the king between the fourth and fifth ribs. The king, who was bleeding, remained calm and called for a confessor as he thought he would die. Thoughts of poison came to his mind. At the sight of the queen, who had come in a hurry, he asked for forgiveness for his misbehavior. The king, however, survived. He was probably saved by the thick layers of clothes he wore on that cold day, which cushioned the blade, preserving internal organs. Allegedly, the blade penetrated only 1 cm. (0.4 in.) into the king's body, leading Voltaire to mock what he called a "pinprick".

Related Topics:
Robert Damiens - January 5 - 1757 - Assassin - Palace of Versailles - Trianon - Voltaire

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Damiens, who was mentally unstable, had been the servant of members of the Parlement of Paris where he had heard much criticism of the king. This, combined with the violent pamphlets and general discontent with the king, convinced him that he had to commit regicide in order to save France. Other sources say that he did not want to kill the king, but merely to give him a warning and thus force him to change his behavior. In any case, it was the first attempt at regicide in France since the murder of King Henry IV by Ravaillac in 1610. The king, bent on forgiving Damiens, could not avoid a trial for regicide. Tried by the Parlement of Paris, Damiens was executed on the Place de Grève on March 28, 1757 following the horrible procedure applied to regicides: after numerous tortures, Damiens was carried to the Place de Grève in the cold afternoon of that day. There, the hand which had hold the penknife was burnt with sulphur, his chest was opened and melted lead was introduced in the wounds, then his four limbs were severed by horses (quartering), and finally, still alive, his trunk was thrown into fire. There was an immense crowd to attend this gruesome spectacle, which nobody had witnessed in 147 years. Balconies in buildings above the Place de Grève were rented to women of the aristocracy for the exorbitant price of 100 livres per balcony (approx. $700 in 2005 US dollars)

Related Topics:
Parlement - Regicide - Henry IV - Ravaillac - 1610 - Place de Grève - March 28 - 1757 - Sulphur - Quartering - Livres

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The king was already so unpopular that whatever sympathy for him the attempted murder had generated in the public quickly disappeared with the execution of Damiens. This gruesome execution was harshly criticized by Philosophers, who saw it as a remnant of the dark ages. In truth, the king himself had not much to do with the method of execution. It was the members of the Parlement of Paris who chose such an horrific way of execution, as they thought it would please the king, willing as they were to reconcile themselves with the king after their opposition to the tax on the twentieth and their support of the Jansenists against the king's will. But above all, the people were outraged that the king did not dismiss Madame de Pompadour, despite the clear signal sent by Damiens. Posters appeared on the walls of Paris with the following ironic pun: "Ruling from the Mint Court: a louis not properly struck shall be struck a second time." The Austrian ambassador wrote to Vienna: " The public discontent is general. All the conversations are about death and poison. There appeared in the Hall of Mirrors of Versailles some dreadful posters threatening the life of the king."

Related Topics:
Louis - Hall of Mirrors

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The king, who had displayed calm and royal dignity on the day of the assassination attempt, sank into profound depression in the following weeks. He became convinced that he was on the wrong track, since his people so disowned him. All attempts at reforms were abandoned. At the Marquise de Pompadour's instigation, the king dismissed his two most hated ministers, the comte d'Argenson, secretary of state for war, and Machault d'Arnouville, keeper of the seals (justice minister) and before that controller-general of finances; and he called Choiseul to the government. Reforms would resume only with Maupeou in 1771.

Related Topics:
Comte d'Argenson - Secretary of state for war - Keeper of the seals - Controller-general of finances - Choiseul - Maupeou - 1771

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~