8月10日
August 10, 1792<br /><br />During the French Revolution, a mob -- with the backing of a municipal government of Paris that came to be known as the "insurrectionary" Paris Commune -- beseiged 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.<br /><br />This insurrection and its outcome are most commonly referred to by historians of the Revolution simply as "the 10th of August"; other common designations include "the insurrection of the 10th of August," or "the revolution of the 10th of August."<br /><br /><!--QuoteBegin--><div class="quotetop">QUOTE</div><div class="quotemain"><!--QuoteEBegin-->The insurrection of the 10th of August<br /><br />The ruling spirit of this new revolution was Danton, a barrister only thirty-two years old, who had not sat in either Assembly, although he had been the leader of the Cordeliers, an advanced republican club, and had a strong hold on the common people of Paris. Danton and his friends were assisted in their work by the fear of invasion, for the allied army was at length mustering on the frontier. Volunteers and fedérés were constantly arriving in Paris, and, although most went on to join the army, the Jacobins enlisted those who were suitable for their purpose, especially some 500 whom Barbaroux, a Girondin, had summoned from Marseilles.<br /><br />At the same time the National Guard -- up to now middle-class in character -- was opened to those from the lower classes. The Prussian Duke of Brunswick's famous declaration of July 25, 1792, announcing that the allies would enter France to restore the royal authority and would visit the Assembly and the city of Paris with military execution if any further outrage were offered to the king, heated the republican spirit to fury. It was resolved to strike the decisive blow on August 10.<br /><br />On the night of August 9 a new revolutionary Paris Commune took possession of the H&ocirc;tel de Ville (the seat of city government), and early on the morning of August 10 the insurgents assailed the Tuileries. As the preparations of the Jacobins had been notorious, some measures of defence had been taken. Beside a few gentlemen in arms and a number of National Guards the palace was garrisoned by the Swiss Guard, about 950 strong. The disparity of force was not so great as to make resistance altogether hopeless. But Louis let himself be persuaded into betraying his own cause and retiring with his family under the shelter of the Assembly. The National Guards either dispersed or fraternised with the assailants. The Swiss Guard stood firm, and, possibly by accident, a fusillade began. The enemy were gaining ground when the Swiss received an order from the king to cease firing and withdraw. They were mostly shot down as they were retiring, and of those who surrendered many were murdered in cold blood next day.<br /><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->