The French Revolution and the End of the French Monarchy

 

In the late 18^th century, the loans provided by France to the US colonies during the American Revolution and the excessive cost of the privilege given to the noble and clergies and corruption caused the country financial difficulties and heavy indebtedness. The burden of taxation which was passed mostly to the lower class worsened the poverty of the people and fueled more discontent and hatred towards the government. The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment and the example of the American Revolution made the people especially the peasantry receptive to radical ideas to change the status quo and improve their living condition.

To deal with the social and economic problems, King Louis XVI appointed Robert Jacques Turgot as comptroller general who then instituted strict economy in government expenditures. The latter’s action did not find favor to Queen Marie Antoinette and the nobility. Using their influence, they made the king removed him from office.

The move by the king only exacerbated the problem so that he appointed another comptroller general who was Jacques Necker who also followed the policies of his predecessor. Both the king and Necker agreed that the Estates-General, which was in adjournment for a long time had to be convoked to address the mounting unrest and discontent of the people. The Estates-General was composed of three estates. The first estate was the clergy, the second estate was the nobility, and the third estate was the commoners. Necker convinced the king that the third estate would have the same number of representatives as that of the first estate and the second estate combined. 

On May 5, 1789, the Estates-General convened. The third estate, the majority caucus, wanted individual voting and majority rule in the proceedings. The proposal was opposed by the first and second estates. And as a result, there was a deadlock. 

In defiance, the third estate, the insurgent caucus, proclaimed itself as the National Assembly and made resolution vesting itself with the sole power to legislate taxation. The king responded by denying the National Assembly the use of its session hall. Upon the instigation of the Comte d’ Artois and queen Marie Antoinette, Jacques Necker was removed from his position. The king also issued orders for the concentration of several loyal foreign regiments in Paris and Versailles. 

Open insurrections and rioting in Paris followed because of the king’s actions. Rebellious acts by the people also took place all over France. On July 14, 1789, the insurrectionists stormed and captured the Bastille, a prison that symbolized the despotism of the royalty. In panic, the prominent reactionaries as well as the comte d’ artois fled from the country.

The Paris bourgeoisie afraid that the lower classes would take advantage of the situation hastily established a provisional local government and organized a people militia that would be designated as the National Guard throughout France. It was placed under the command of Marquis de Lafayette, a hero of the American Revolution.

The king accepted the measures taken by the provisional authorities, and reinstated Necker. On June 27, 1789, the king, in a move to restore harmony, ordered the refractory clergy and the nobility to join the unicameral assembly which later called itself the Constituent National Assembly. 

On August 4, 1789, the clergy and the nobility renounced their privileges during the night session of the Constituent National Assembly. These were the abolition of feudal and manorial prerogatives, the prohibition and sale of public office, the rights of the Catholic Church to levy taxes and exemption from taxation and other privileges...

While a new constitution was drafted by the Constituent National Assembly, there was a report that the royal family held a grand banquet at Versailles. This angered the hungry people of Paris. As a result, a large body of Parisians mostly women marched to the palace. King Louis and his family were rounded up but they were rescued by Lafayette, who, on demand of the crowd, escorted the royal family to Paris. 

The king approved the first draft of the constitution on July 14, 1790, with elaborate ceremonies in Paris. In its preamble was the Declaration of Rights of man and of the Citizen which included equality before the law, trial by jury and other democratic provisions. But by the institution of the property qualification of the vote, the constitution confined the electorates to the middle and upper classes. The constitution that was drafted was also set to limit and control the power of the king, to clip the power of the clergies and to divest them of their vast holdings. 

Despite acquiescence of the king to give in to the desire of the people, there were suspicions that he and his wife were in constant secret communications with the other monarchies of Europe to undermine the revolutionary government. And another reason for the suspicion was that Queen Marie Antoinette was a sister of King Leopold II, the Holy Roman Emperor. The people’s suspicion was confirmed when King Louis XVI and his wife were caught on June 21, 1791, at Varennes while trying to escape to another country. 

On July 17, 1791, the republicans in Paris took to the street and demanded that the king be deposed. But on order of Marquis de Lafayette, the National Guards opened fire and dispersed the crowd. The bloodshed further widened the divide between the royalists and the radicals. 

After suspending the king for a brief period, the Constituent National Assembly re-instated him to his office. He took the oath to support the revised constitution on September 14, 1791. Two weeks later with the election of new members of the Legislative Assembly authorized by the constitution, the Constituent National Assembly was dissolved. The Legislative Assembly began its session on October 1, 1791, with 750 members. They were grouped as the Feuillants who were royalists, the Plains who were the majority of the caucus but had no defined opinion or programs, and the Republicans who were for a representative government. The Republicans were grouped as Girondists and Montagnards. The Girondists espoused for federal republican government patterned after that of the United States. The Montagnards who were composed of the Jacobins and the Cordeliers espoused for a centralized and indivisible republic. The Montagnards were the most radical members of the Legislative Assembly.                                            

Meanwhile, King Leopold II and King Frederick William II of Prussia issued a joint declaration against France which threatened an armed intervention against the revolutionary government.

Later, the Girondists gained power in the Legislative Assembly, and it adopted belligerent attitude toward Francis II, who succeeded his father Leopold II as the Holy Roman emperor and to Frederick William II.  On April 20, 1792, the Legislative Assembly declared war on the Austrian part of the Holy Roman Empire. That declaration started a series of conflict known as the French Revolutionary War.

The European monarchies attacked Paris. They also issued threat to the effect that if the King and his family were harmed, they would destroy the city. The invasion only sparked the nationalist fervor of the people and made them more radical. The Legislative Assembly’s call for volunteers all over France to defend Paris was met willing cooperation by the people. The volunteers stormed Tuileries, the residence of the royal family. When contingent from Marseilles arrived, they sang the patriotic song “Marseilles”. The volunteers were able to overrun the King’s Swiss guards and massacred them. King Louis and his family were captured while hiding near the hall of the Legislative Assembly. The insurrectionists deposed the governing council and replaced it with a new provisional executive council. The Montagnards dominated the new Parisian council and swiftly controlled the Legislative Assembly. It approved election by universal male suffrage and a new constitutional convention. After the invaders were repulsed about 1,000 royalists and suspected traitors were rounded up and summarily executed. 

On September 20, 1792, the newly elected National Constitutional Convention convened in Paris. It proclaimed the establishment of the First Republic of France and formally abolished the monarchy.

The execution of King Louis XVI

Some of the convention’s first moves were to approve the resolutions initiated by the Montagnards to try King Louis for treason. It also approved a resolution that the country would extend help to other peoples of Europe in fighting oppression, a move that in effect would export the ideals of the French Revolution across Europe through armed struggle. King Louis XVI was found guilty during the trial and was sent to guillotine on January 21, 1793.

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The Legacies of the French Revolution to Our Democratic Principles

 

                        

The French revolution from 1789 to 1799 was one of the bloodiest in history which resulted to the abolition of the monarchy and the proclamation of the French Republic. The provisional rulers of the revolutionary government proved to be more despotic and brutal than the king they deposed. They executed the reactionaries, the political opposition and even turned against each other to settle their differences. As a result, thousands of people were summarily killed or executed with the infamous guillotine, the beheading machine that was associated with the bloody revolution. However, despite their radicalism and brutalities, the leaders of the revolution were highly committed to their cause to bring about social change, and they had the spirit of nationalism in them. Because of their ideals, most people supported them. The in-fighting of diverse groups within the revolutionary government made it unstable. The ineffectiveness of the civilian rulers to run the government led to a series of coup d’état that later made Napoleon Bonaparte, a military commander, as the ruler and dictator of France.                                                                        

Napoleon made wars with other European countries to export the ideals of the French Revolution. He was at first victorious. But later the combined forces of Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, and Austria finally defeated him at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. And the Bourbon monarchy was briefly restored to the throne by those victorious countries.                  

In France, the revolution resulted to the enactment of laws and adoption of systems that paved the way for the establishment of democratic government. Although France was not the first country to make those laws that expanded a person’s rights and freedom, its examples are the most influential in the world.

Following are some democratic principles that came about because of the French Revolution which are adopted by many countries of the world:

Constitutional government- is one that operates under a set of fundamental laws which is called a constitution.

Representative government- is one that is run by officials that are elected by the people. High government positions are not bestowed by reason of birth.

Merit-based civil service system- non-elective positions or jobs in the government are given to those who are most qualified and talented. It is not given by virtue of one’s birth or connections to the authorities.

Separation of church and state and the abolition of privileges of the clergy and the upper class- the clergy held immense power in pre-revolutionary France. The church had a strong influence over the king so that it could expect from him decisions and policies in its favor.  This resulted to the church having vast properties and the clergies along with the nobilities having so many privileges. The revolutionary government of France cut those influences and privileges and even confiscated the properties of the church. Separation of church and state is now the norm of many governments around the world.

Freedom of religion- no religion shall be considered as a state religion. People are free to believe in any religion of their choice, and they are not compelled to believe or not to believe in any religion.

Freedom of the press- is the right of those in the communication media to disseminate information that is of public interest. This freedom is one of the tools for transparency in government activities.

The Napoleonic Code- is a document that was written in the aftermath of the French Revolution. It embodies some of the democratic legal principles that are now adopted in the courts of justice of many countries, especially in the resolution of criminal cases. These principles include:

·       presumption of innocence until proven guilty

·       equality before the law

·       right to legal counsel

·       trial by jury in a criminal case

·       right of habeas corpus

·       provision for a fair trial

The French Revolution’s motto of “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite” or  “Liberty, Equality, and Brotherhood” will always be a cherished ideals to our democracy.

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