The Women’s March on Versailles
By Emma Collins, Third Year History
235 years ago today, tens of thousands of Parisian women descended on the Palace of Versailles, demanding to see King Louis XVI. They had marched the 20km from Paris to ensure he would listen to their demands; they wanted bread and change.
The 5th of October 1789 started in the same way as any other day. Women queued at boulangeries near Les Halles market, only to discover there was no bread. If there was, it was overpriced and of extremely poor quality. In reaction to this, the citizens in the market began to demand bread. They joined forces with other frustrated women and marched to the Hôtel de Ville, the City Hall of Paris.
Once at the City Hall, they harassed their representatives, demanding change to how Paris’s bread was provisioned. Realising they were accomplishing little; they raided the armoury and ransacked the hall for food and provisions. They then turned their attention to Versailles.
Acquiring sympathetic women from the Parisian streets on the way, their numbers swelled to around 10,000 people. It was at this point that they split into two groups. The larger, armed group would head to Versailles through Northern Paris. The smaller, unarmed group would follow the same route taken by the men’s unsuccessful march on the 30th of August.
King Louis XVI and the National Guardsmen made little attempt to stop the march. Women were seen as non-confrontational and nonviolent. They had dismissed the idea of the protest as a threat. Also, weeks before, new garrisons from the National Guardsmen had arrived in anticipation of protestors from Paris. The King believed he was safe.
When the women arrived, they dropped their weapons and immediately flooded into the National Assembly. They demanded that the men there would ensure bread was provided to Paris. Some beat priests from the First Assembly, who were seen as turncoats.
The less violent women persuaded the Assembly to let them see the King. However, after little progress was made, Versailles Palace was stormed. A few fanatics ran through Marie Antionette’s apartment frantically demanding her head. Yet, Marie Antoinette had escaped to her husband’s room where she, King Louis XVI and their children were eventually found and escorted out of the palace.
The women led the Royal Family to Paris. The streets were lined with people watching the procession, most were armed, and some were celebrating. Once in Paris, the family were imprisoned in Tuileries Palace, where they would reside until its storming in 1792.
The Women’s March on Versailles transcended a protest for bread. It was the turning point in the French Revolution, ending the stalemate between the revolutionaries and the loyalists. The revolutionaries had forced the monarchy to come to them and ensured radical Paris was the Revolution’s epicentre, from which Louis XVI could not escape.