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The Flight to Varennes (June 20-21, 1791) was a significant episode in the French Revolution during which the French royal family attempted unsuccessfully to escape from the radical agitation of the Jacobins in Paris disguised as a Russian aristocratic family. 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 to Varennes

Attempt to flee Paris

Louis's resistance to popular demands was one of the causes of the forcible transfer of the royal family from Versailles to the Tuileries Palace in Paris on October 6. Yet he made still more mistakes, refusing to follow the secret advice tendered to him after May 1790 by the royalist deputy, the count de Mirabeau, abdicating his responsibilities, and acquiescing in the disastrous attempt to escape from the capital to the eastern frontier on June 21, 1791. Caught at Varennes and brought back to Paris, he lost credibility as a constitutional monarch. Thenceforward he seems to have been completely dominated by the queen, who must bear the chief blame for the court's subsequent political duplicity.

From the autumn of 1791 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 French military disaster would pave the way for the restoration of his authority. Prompted by Marie-Antoinette, Louis rejected the advice of the moderate constitutionalists, led by Antoine Barnave, to implement faithfully the constitution of 1791, which he had sworn to maintain, and committed himself to a policy of subterfuge and deception.

The outbreak of the war with Austria in April 1792, the suspected machinations of the queen's “Austrian committee,” and the publication of the manifesto by the Austrian commander, the duke of Brunswick, threatening the destruction of Paris if the safety of the royal family were again endangered, led to the capture of the Tuileries by the people of Paris and provincial militia on August 10, 1792. It also led to the temporary 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 Mirabeau and of his counterrevolutionary intrigues with the foreigners was found in a secret cupboard in the Tuileries. 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 Convention (December 11 and 23).

The Results

When they reached Paris, the crowd was silent. The Assembly provisionally suspended the king and kept the royal couple under guard. From this point forward, the possibility not only of the deposition or forced abdication of this particular king but of the establishment of a republic entered the political discourse.

It was now no longer possible to pretend that the 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. Mutual distrust between the Royalists and the revolutionaries deteriorated from this point, ultimately resulting in the guillotining of Louis (January 21, 1793) and of Marie Antoinette (October 16, 1793).

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

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.

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)

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-The '''Flight to Varennes''' ([[June 20]]-[[June 21|21]], [[1791]]) was a significant episode in the [[French Revolution]] during which the French royal family, faced with a decrease in royal authority, attempted unsuccessfully to escape abroad disguised as a Russian aristocratic family.  This represented a turning point after which popular hostility towards the monarchy as an institution, as well as towards [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]] and [[Marie Antoinette of France|Marie Antoinette]] as individuals, became more pronounced.
+The '''Flight to Varennes''' ([[June 20]]-[[June 21|21]], [[1791]]) was a significant episode in the [[French Revolution]] during which the French royal family attempted unsuccessfully to escape from the radical agitation of the [[Jacobin Club|Jacobins]] in [[Paris]] disguised as a Russian aristocratic family. 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 of France|Louis XVI]] and [[Marie Antoinette of France|Marie Antoinette]] as individuals, became more pronounced. They were only able to make it to [[Varennes]]
+==Attempt to flee Paris==
-==Background==
-Deprived of authority and in fact made virtually a prisoner by the initial events of the revolution from [[1789]], [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]] had for many months acquiesced in the decrees of the [[National Constituent Assembly]]. However, the [[Civil Constitution of the Clergy]] wounded both his conscience and his pride. From the autumn of 1790 onwards he began to scheme for his liberation. Himself incapable of strenuous effort, the King was spurred on by his queen [[Marie Antoinette]], who keenly felt her own degradation and the curtailment of that royal prerogative which her [[Louis XVII of France|son]] would one day expect to inherit.
+Louis's resistance to popular demands was one of the causes of the forcible transfer of the royal family from [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]] to the [[Tuileries Palace]] in Paris on October 6. Yet he made still more mistakes, refusing to follow the secret advice tendered to him after May 1790 by the royalist deputy, the count de Mirabeau, abdicating his responsibilities, and acquiescing in the disastrous attempt to escape from the capital to the eastern frontier on June 21, 1791. Caught at Varennes and brought back to Paris, he lost credibility as a constitutional monarch. Thenceforward he seems to have been completely dominated by the queen, who must bear the chief blame for the court's subsequent political duplicity.
-The king and queen failed to measure the forces which had caused the Revolution. They ascribed all their misfortunes to the work of a malignant faction, and believed that, if they could escape from [[Paris]], a display of force by [[Bourbon house|Bourbon]]-friendly [[power (sociology)|powers]] would enable them to restore the supremacy of the crown. The [[National Guard (France)|National Guard]]s of Paris treated the royal family well, and protected them on several occasions from tumultuous crowds, but were determined to prevent their escape. When Louis tried to leave the [[Tuileries]] for [[Saint-Cloud]] at Easter 1791, in order to enjoy the ministrations of a nonjuring priest (one who had not taken the oath required by the Civil Constitution), they would not let him budge. [[Honoré Mirabeau|Mirabeau]], who had always dissuaded the king from seeking foreign help, died on [[April 2]], 1791.
+From the autumn of 1791 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 French military disaster would pave the way for the restoration of his authority. Prompted by Marie-Antoinette, Louis rejected the advice of the moderate constitutionalists, led by Antoine Barnave, to implement faithfully the constitution of 1791, which he had sworn to maintain, and committed himself to a policy of subterfuge and deception.
-Encouraged by the ''[[émigré]]s'' to believe that revolutionary France was without effective military means of defense, representatives of [[Austria]] (represented in the discussions by the emperor [[Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold II]] himself), [[Switzerland]], [[Sardinia]], and [[Spain]], met at [[Mantua]] and on [[May 20]], [[1791]] reached a secret agreement to go to war against France, supposedly on behalf of Louis. The British monarch [[George III of Great Britain|George III]] also was part of the coalition in his role as [[Elector of Hannover]]. [[Prussia]], while not an active participant, was well disposed. However, when the plan was conveyed to Louis XVI, he rejected this potentially treacherous source of aid, casting his lot instead with general [[François Claude Amour, marquis de Bouillé|Bouillé]], who condemned both the emigration and the Assembly, and promised him refuge and support in his camp with the army of the East at [[Montmedy]], where his loyal troops were ready to shelter the royal family and either await foreign help or to begin a counter-revolution.
+The outbreak of the war with Austria in April 1792, the suspected machinations of the queen's “Austrian committee,” and the publication of the manifesto by the Austrian commander, the duke of Brunswick, threatening the destruction of Paris if the safety of the royal family were again endangered, led to the capture of the Tuileries by the people of Paris and provincial militia on August 10, 1792. It also led to the temporary 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 Mirabeau and of his counterrevolutionary intrigues with the foreigners was found in a secret cupboard in the Tuileries. 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 Convention (December 11 and 23).
-==Planning the King's Flight==
-The flight was planned and organized by the Swedish count [[Axel von Fersen, Jr.|Axel von Fersen]], who is believed to have been the queen's lover and the eyes, ears and mouth of [[Gustav III]] of Sweden by the royal family. {{citationneeded}}
+==The Results==
-Although the plan was well-organized, it faced many difficulties in the days leading up to the flight. Originally Louis was supposed to make his departure in a small coach. However, Louis believed that he should ride in a carriage which was fit for a king. This carriage would have drawn suspicion and attention to whoever was in it. The last thing the royal family needed was to draw attention from themselves. Secondly, the family felt that it was necessary to take two nurses and Marie Antoinette's hair dresser Leonard. The family had to delay the flight so that they would have everyone they wanted with them. Also, by taking more people than necessary, the family made themselves more noticeable. Lastly, on the night of the flight, the royal family, in disguise, walked right past the Marquis de Lafayette. If Lafayette would have realized who he was passing, he would have figured out that they were trying to escape and would have quickly arrested the royal family. Regardless of all of these events which could have ruined the plan, the king and his family were able to escape and make it to their carriage.
-==The King's Flight==
-Maintaining seemingly innocuous conduct to the last, and trusting very few with their secret plans, on the evening of [[June 20]], 1791 the royal family left the Tuileries, one by one, in disguise. A carriage awaited them on the Boulevard to take them on the road to [[Châlons]] and Montmedy. Louis left behind him a declaration complaining of the treatment which he had received and revoking his assent to all measures which had been laid before him while under restraint.
-In the morning, their disappearance was discovered. An angry crowd, reasonably fearing either an invasion of France or a civil war, accused both mayor [[Jean-Sylvain Bailly]] and the [[Marquis de Lafayette]] (head of the National Guard) of collusion. However, the Assembly soon established their control of the situation: it seized executive power, commissioned [[Armand Marc, comte de Montmorin|Montmorin]], the minister of foreign affairs, to inform the European powers of its pacific intentions; sent commissioners to secure an oath of the troops to the Assembly (rather than to the King), and ordered the arrest of anyone attempting to leave the kingdom.
-==The King's Capture==
-The king had the bad luck to be sighted, recognised, and arrested at [[Varennes-en-Argonne|Varennes]] late on the 21st. National Guards seized him; other troops on the scene did not oppose them; by the time Bouillé reached Varennes, the issue was decided and the royal family was on their way back toward Paris under guard.
-Bouillé left the army and managed to get out of France. The king's eldest brother, the [[Louis XVIII of France|Count of Provence]], who had laid his plans more thoroughly, made his escape to [[Brussels]] and joined the ''émigrés''.
-[[Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve|Pétion]], [[Marie Victor de Fay Marquis de Latour-Maubourg|Latour-Maubourg]], and [[Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie Barnave|Barnave]], representing the Assembly, met the royal family at [[Epernay]] and returned with them. From this time, Barnave became a counsellor and supporter of the royal family.
-==The Results==
 When they reached Paris, the crowd was silent. The Assembly provisionally suspended the king and kept the royal couple under guard. From this point forward, the possibility not only of the deposition or forced abdication of this particular king but of the establishment of a [[republic]] entered the political discourse.
@@ Line 37: / Line 22: @@
 ''The article also draws material from the out-of-copyright'' [http://www.outfo.org/literature/pg/etext06/8hfrr10.txt History of the French Revolution from 1789 to 1814]'', by François Mignet ([[1824]]), as made available by [[Project Gutenberg]].''
 * Lindqvist, Herman (1991). ''Axel von Fersen''. Stockholm: Fischer & Co
-* Loomis, Stnaley (1972). ''The Fatal Friendship''. Avon Books - ISBN '''0931933331'''
+* Loomis, Stanley (1972). ''The Fatal Friendship''. Avon Books - ISBN '''0931933331'''
 *Timothy Tackett, ''When the King Took Flight'' (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003)
 [[category:French Revolution]]
 [[de:Flucht nach Varennes]]
+[[es:Fuga de Varennes]]
 [[fr:Fuite de Louis XVI et arrestation à Varennes]]
 [[ja:ヴァレンヌ事件]]