The Great French Revolution 1789–1793 - The Anarchist Library

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The Great French Revolution
Chapter 11: Paris on the Eve of
1789–1793
the Fourteenth
Revolution centred in Paris, not in Assembly — Paris Pëtr Kropotkin
ready to rise — Districts organise people — Arrest
of soldiers of Gardes françaises — Scarcity of bread
— Fury of people increases — Dismissal of Necker
— Camille Desmoulins appeals to arms — Struggle
begins—Tocsinrung—Peopleprocurefoodandarms
— Permanent Committee instituted — Formation of
NationalGuard-Middleclassestrytodisarmpeople
The attention of the historians is generally absorbed by the Na-
tional Assembly. The representatives of the people assembled at
Versailles seem to personify the Revolution, and their last words
or acts are chronicled with pious devotion. Nevertheless, it was
not there that the passionate heart of the Revolution was throb-
bingduringthoseJulydays:itwasthrobbinginParis.
WithoutParis,withoutherpeople,theAssemblywasnaught.If
thefearofParisinrevolthadnotrestrainedtheCourt,theAssem-
bly would have been most certainly dispersed, as has been seen
so many times since — on the I8th Brumaire and December 2 in
France,andalsorecentlyinHungaryandinRussia.Nodoubtthe
deputieswouldhaveprotested;nodoubttheywouldhaveuttered
somefinespeeches,andsomeofthemperhapsmighthavetriedto
raise the provinces; but without a people ready to rise, without a
preliminary revolutionary work accomplished among the masses,
1909
without an appeal to the people for revolt made direct from man
80
to Dumouriez at Caen on July 10 by the Duchess de Beuvron, in
thepresenceofsixtyexultingnobles,shouldsufficetoproveit:
“Well,Dumouriez,”saidtheDuchess,“doyounotknowthegreat
news? Your friend Necker is turned out, and the result is that the
King reascends the throne and the Assembly is dispersed. Your
friends, ‘the forty-seven,’ are at this very moment in the Bastille,
perhaps,withMirabeau,Turgot,andahundredorsoofthoseinso-
lentfellowsoftheThirdEstate,andforcertainMarshaldeBroglie
isinPariswiththirtythousandmen.”5
TheDuchesswasmistaken.Neckerwasnotdismisseduntilthe
11th,andBroglietookcarenottoenterParis.
But what was the Assembly doing then? It was doing what As-
semblieshavealwaysdone,andalwayswilldo.Itdecidedonnoth-
ing.Whatcoulditdecide?
The very day that the people of Paris began to rise, that is, on
July8,theAssemblychargednootherthanMirabeau,thepeople’s
tribune,withthedrawingupofahumblepetitiontotheKing,and
whileprayingtheKingtowithdrawthetroopstheAssemblyfilled
theirpetitionwiththegrossestadulation.Itspokeofapeoplewho
dearlylovedtheirKing,andthankedHeavenforthegiftbestowed
upontheminhislove.Howmanytimessimilarwordsandflatteries
willbeaddressedtotheKingbytherepresentativesofthepeople
during the progress of the Revolution? The fact is that the Revo-
lution cannot be understood at all if these repeated efforts on the
part of the propertied classes to win over Royalty to their side as
a buckler against the people are passed by unnoticed. All the dra-
maswhichwillbeenactedlateron,in1793,withintheConvention,
werealreadycontainedingerminthispetitionfromtheNational
Assembly,signedbutafewdaysbeforeJuly14.
5Dumouriez.Memoires,vol.ii.p.35.
79
and it did its best to defend the nobles and their privileges, to see
itselflateronbetrayedinreturnbythoseself-samepersonsprivi-
legedfromtheirbirth.
Meanwhile information concerning the plots of the Court was
Contents
comingfromallquarters,bothtothepartisansoftheDukeofOr-
léans,whousedtomeetatMontrouge,aswellautotherevolution-
aries,whofrequentedtheBretonClub.Troopswereconcentrating
atVersailles,andontheroadfromVersaillestoParis.InParisitself Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
theytookpossessionofthemostimportantpointsinthedirection
Chapter1:TheTwoGreatCurrentsoftheRevolution 11
ofVersailles.Thirty-fivethousandmenweresaidtobedistributed
withinthiscompass,andtwentythousandmoreweretobeadded
Chapter2:TheIdea 15
totheminafewdays.TheprincesandtheQueen,itwasrumoured,
were planning to dissolve the Assembly, to crush Paris in case of
Chapter3:Action 21
a rising, to arrest and kill, not only the principal leaders and the
DukeofOrléans,butalsothosemembersoftheAssembly,suchas Chapter4:ThePeopleBeforetheRevolution 26
Mirabeau,MounierandLally-Tollendal,whowishedtotransform
LouisXVI.intoaconstitutionalmonarch.Twelvemembers,saidLa Chapter5:TheSpiritofRevolt:theRiots 30
Fayettelateron,weretobeimmolated.TheBarondeBreteulland
Chapter 6: The Convocation of the States General Be-
Marshal de Broglie had been summoned to put this project into
comesNecessary 42
execution — both of them quite ready to do it. “If it is necessary
to burn Paris, Paris will be burnt,” said the former. As to Marshal
Chapter7:TheRisingoftheCountryDistrictsDuring
de Broglie, he had written to the Prince de Condé that a whiff of
theOpeningMonthsof1789 47
grapeshotwouldsoon“dispersetheseargufiersandrestoretheab-
solute power which is going out, in place of the republican spirit
Chapter8:RiotsinParisandItsEnvirons 58
whichiscomingin.”4
It must not be believed that those rumours were only idle Chapter9:TheStates-General 62
tales, as some reactionary historians have asserted. The letter of
the Duchess de Polignac, addressed on July 12 to Flesselles, the Chapter10:PreparationsfortheCoupd’État 70
ProvostoftheMerchants,whichwasfoundlateron,andinwhich
Chapter11:ParisontheEveoftheFourteenth 80
allthepersonsimplicatedwerementionedunderassumednames,
is sufficient proof of the plot hatched by the Court for July 16. If
Chapter12:TheTakingoftheBastille 92
therecouldstillbeanydoubtonthismatter,thewordsaddressed
Chapter13:TheConsequencesofJuly14atVersailles 103
4LouisBlanc,HistioredelaRévolution,françeis
78 3
Chapter14:ThePopularRisings 110 bat nothing was decided, nothing undertaken. And, when one of
themembersraisedthequestionofthespeculatorsanddenounced
Chapter15:TheTowns 115 some of them, he had the entire Assembly against him. Two days
later,July6,Boucheannouncedthattheculpritswereknown,and
Chapter16:ThePeasantRising 127
that a formal accusation would be made the next day. “A general
panic took possession of the Assembly,” says Gorsas, in the Cour-
Chapter17:August4andItsConsequences 137
rierdeVersaillesetdeParis,whichhehadjuststarted.Butthenext
Chapter18:TheFeudalRightsRemain 149 daycameandnotawordmorewasutteredonthissubject.Theaf-
fairwassuppressedintheinterim.Why?Forfear—assubsequent
Chapter19:DeclarationoftheRightsofMan 162 eventsgotoprove—ofcompromisingrevelations.
Inanycase,somuchdidtheAssemblyfearthepopularoutbreak,
Chapter20:TheFifthandSixthofOctober1789 167 thatontheoccasionofariotinParis,onJune30,afterthearrestof
the eleven French Guards who had refused to load their muskets
Chapter21:FearsoftheMiddleClasses—TheNewMu-
to fire on the people, the Assembly voted an address to the King,
nicipalOrganisation 179
conceived in the most servile terms and protesting its “profound
attachmenttotheroyalauthority.”3
Chapter 22: Financial Difficulties — Sale of Church
HowevergrudginglytheKingmighthaveconsentedtogivethe
Property 190
middle classes the smallest share in the Government, they would
haveralliedtohimandhelpedwithalltheirpoweroforganisation
Chapter23:TheFêteoftheFederation 196
tokeepthepeopledown.But—andletthisserveasawarninginfu-
Chapter24:The“Districts”andthe“Sections”ofParis 202 turerevolutions—inthelifeoftheindividual,ofparties,andeven
ofinstitutions,thereisalogicwhichisbeyondanyone’spowerto
Chapter 25: The Sections of Paris Under the New Mu- change.Theroyaldespotismcouldnotcometotermswiththemid-
nicipalLaw 211 dleclasses,whodemandedfromittheirshareintheGovernment.
Itwaslogicallydestinedtofightthem,andoncethebattlebeganit
Chapter26:DelaysintheAbolitionoftheFeudalRights218
hadtosuccumbandyielditsplacetorepresentativegovernment—
theformwhichwasbestsuitedtotheruleofthemiddleclasses.On
Chapter27:FeudalLegislationin1790 229
theotherhand,withoutbetrayingitsnaturalsupporters,thenobil-
ity, it could not make terms with democracy, the people’s party,
Chapter28:ArrestoftheRevolutionin1790 237
Chapter 29: The Flight of the King — Reaction — End 3“The National Assembly deplores the troubles which are now agitating
Paris…ItwillsendadeputationtotheKingtobeghimofhisgracetoemployfor
oftheConstituentAssembly 248
there-establishmentofordertheinfalliblemeansoftheclemencyandkindness
thataresonativetohisheartwiththeconfidencewhichhisgoodpeoplewill
alwaysdeserve.”
4 77
themselvesbehindit.Desertedbythenobility,itwasintheranks Chapter 30: The Legislative Assembly — Reaction in
of his commons, at one time so obstinate, that Louis XVI. would 1791–1792 259
have found his most faithful and most alarmed servitors. He was
ceasingtobetheKingofgentlemen,hewasbecomingtheKingof Chapter 31: The Counter-Revolution in the South of
theproperty-owners.” France 270
This primordial defect in the Revolution weighed it down, all
Chapter32:TheTwentiethofJune1792 278
thetime,asweshallsee,uptothemomentwhenreactiongotthe
upperhand.
Chapter33: The TenthOf August:Its Immediate Con-
The distress in the city, however, increased from day to day. It
sequences 292
is true that Necker had taken measures to avert the dangers of a
famine.OnSeptember7,1788,hehadsuspendedtheexportationof Chapter34:TheInterregnum—TheBetrayals 306
corn, and he was protecting the importation by bounties; seventy
millionlivreswereexpendedinthepurchaseofforeignwheat.At Chapter35:TheSeptemberDays 322
the same time he gave widespread publicity to the decree of the
King’sCouncilofApril23,1789,whichempoweredjudgesandof- Chapter 36: The Convention — The Commune — The
ficersofthepolicetovisitprivategranariestomakeaninventory Jacobins 335
of the grain, and in case of necessity to send the grain to market.
Chapter 37: The Government — Conflicts With the
Butthecarryingoutoftheseorderswasconfidedtotheoldauthor-
Convention—TheWar 345
itiesand-nomoreneedbesaid!
NowinJulytheGovernmentwasgivingbountiestothosewho
Chapter38:TheTrialoftheKing 358
brought wheat to Paris; but the imported wheat was secretly re-
exported, so that it could be brought in again and so obtain the
Chapter39:The“Mountain”andTheGironde 369
bounty a second time. In the provinces, monopolists were buying
upthecornwithaviewtothesespeculations;theyboughtupeven Chapter40:AttemptsoftheGirondinstoStoptheRev-
thestandingcrops. olution 378
ItwasthenthatthetruecharacteroftheNationalAssemblywas
revealed.Ithadbeenworthyofadmiration,nodoubt,whenittook Chapter41:The“Anarchists” 383
theoathintheTennisCourt,butaboveallthingsitstillmaintained
Chapter42:CausesoftheRisingonMay31 391
towards the people a middle-class attitude. On July 4, when the
report of the “Committee of Subsistence” was presented, the As-
Chapter43:SocialDemands—StateofFeelingInParis
sembly discussed the measures to be taken for guaranteeing food
—Lyons 401
and work to the people. They talked for hours and made proposi-
tionafterproposition.Petionproposedaloan,othersproposedau-
thorismgtheprovincialassembliestotakethenecessarymeasures,
76 5
Chapter 44: The War — The Rising in La Vendee — andinsurrectionrepresentedintheireyesthemeansofprocuring
TreacheryofDumouriez 411 thebreadtheyneeded.Atthetimewhenthefaminewasgrowing
moreandmoresevere,andeventhesupplyofbadflour,yellowand
Chapter45:ANewRisingRenderedInevitable 424 burnt, reserved for the poor, continually failed, the people knew
thatinParisandthevicinitytherewasenoughfoodtofeedevery-
Chapter46:TheInsurrectionofMay31andJune2 432
body,andthepoorsaidtooneanotherthatwithoutaninsurrection
themonopolistswouldneverleaveoffstarvingthepeople.
Chapter 47: The Popular Revolution — Arbitrary Tax-
But, as the murmurs of the people in their dark quarters grew
ation 440
louder,theParismiddleclassesandtherepresentativesofthepeo-
Chapter48:TheLegislativeAssemblyandtheCommu- ple at Versailles became more and more alarmed about a possible
nalLands 446 risingintheprovinces.BettertheKingandCourtthanthepeople
inrevolt.2TheverydaythethreeOrderswereunited,June27,after
Chapter49:TheLandsRestoredtotheCommunes 455 thefirstvictoryoftheThirdEstate,Mirabeau,whountilthenwas
appealing to the people, separated himself completely from them,
Chapter50:FinalAbolitionoftheFeudalRights 461 andadvocatedtheseparationoftherepresentativesfromthem.He
even warned the members to be on their guard against “seditious
Chapter51:TheNationalEstates 466
auxiliaries.” In this we can already see the future programme of
“the Gironde” evolving in the Assembly. Mirabeau wished the As-
Chapter52:TheStruggleAgainstFamine—TheMaxi-
sembly to contribute “to the maintenance of order, to the public
mum—Paper-Money 472
tranquillity, to the authority of the laws and their ministers.” He
wentevenfurther.HewantedthedeputiestorallyroundtheKing,
Chapter 53: Counter-Revolution In Brittany — Assas-
saying that the King meant well; if it happened that he did any
sinationofMarat 481
wrong,itwasonlybecausehewasdeceivedandbadlyadvised!
Chapter 54: The Vendee — Lyons — The Risings in The Assembly loudly applailded this speech. “The truth is,”
SouthernFrance 489 says Louis Blanc very aptly, “that far from wishing to overturn
the throne, the middle classes were already trying to shelter
Chapter55:TheWar—TheInvasionBeatenBack 499
2ThosewhomakespeechesontheanniversariesoftheRevolutionprefer
Chapter 56: The Constitution — The Revolutionary tokeepsilentonthisdelicatesubject,andspeakofthetouchingunanimitywhich
theypretendtohaveexistedbetweenthepeopleandtheirrepresentatives.But
Movement 508
Louis Blanc has already pointed out the fears of the middle classes as the 14th
of July drew near, and modern research only confirms this point of view. The
Chapter57:TheExhaustionoftheRevolutionarySpirit 516 additionalfactswhichIgivehere,concerningthedaysfromthe2ndtothe12thof
July,showalsothattheinsurrectionofthepeopleofParisfolloweduptothe12th
Chapter58:TheCommunistMovement 523 itsownlineofconduct,independentofthemiddleclassmembersoftheThird
Estate.
6 75
and such a moment had come at Versailles. Thus, while the no- Chapter59:SchemesfortheSocialisationofLand,In-
bility were rejoicing over the little success gained by the Royal dustries,MeansofSubsistenceandExchange 532
Session, some middle-class revolutionaries were founding at Ver-
sailles itself a club, the Breton Club, which soon became a great Chapter60:TheEndoftheCommunistMovement 539
rallying centre and was later on the famous club of the Jacobins.
Chapter 61: The Constitution of the Central Govern-
Tothisclubtheservants,eventhoseoftheKingandQueen,went
ment—Reprisals 548
to report what was said behind closed doors at the Court. Some
Bretondeputies,amongthemLeChapelier,GlezenandLanjulnais,
Chapter62:Education—TheMetricSystem—TheNew
were the founders of this Breton Club, and Mirabeau, the Duke
Calendar—Anti-ReligiousMovement 559
d’Aiguillon, Sieyés,Barnave,Pétion, the Abbé Grégoireand Robe-
spierreweremembersofit. Chapter63:TheSuppressionoftheSections 570
SincetheStates-GeneralhadbeensittingatVersaillesthegreat-
estexcitementprevailedinParis.ThePalaisRoyal,withitsgardens Chapter64:StruggleAgainsttheHebertists 576
andcafés,hadbecomeanopen-airclub,whithertenthousandper-
sonsofallclasseswenteverydaytoexchangenews,todiscussthe Chapter65:FalloftheHebertists—DantonExecuted 586
pamphletsofthehour,torenewamongthecrowdtheirardourfor
Chapter66:RobespierreandHisGroup 594
futureaction,toknowandtounderstandoneanother.Hereflocked
togetherthelowermiddleclassesandtheintellectuals.Alltheru-
Chapter67:TheTerror 599
mours,allthenewscollectedatVersaillesbytheBretonClub,were
immediately communicated to this open-air club of the Parisians. Chapter68:The9th Thermidor—TriumphofReaction 606
Thencetherumoursandnewsspreadtothefaubourgs,andifsome-
times on the way fiction was added to fact, it was, as is often the Chapter69:Conclusion 617
case with popular legends, truer than the truth itself, since it was
only forestalling, and revealing under the guise of legend, the se-
cret springs of action, and intuitively judging men and things of-
tenmorecorrectlythandothewise.Whobetterthantheobscure
masses of the faubourgs knew Marie-Antoinette, the Duchess de
Polignac, the perfidious King and the treacherous princes? Who
hasunderstoodthembetterthanthepeopledid?
Ever since the day following the Royal Session, the great city
wassimmeringwithrevolt.TheHoteldeVillehadsentcongratula-
tionstotheAssembly.ThePalaisRoyalhadforwardedanaddress
couched in militant language. For the famished people, despised
andrejecteduntilthen,thepopulartriumphwasagleamofhope,
74 7
revolutionwassoontoturnuponthematter,wastheKing’sdecla-
rationconcerningtheinviolabilityofthefeudalrights.Hedeclared
thatthetithes,redemptions,rentsofallkindsandseigneurialand
feudal rights were property rights absolutely and for ever invio-
lable.
By such a pronouncement the King was evidently placing the
nobilityonhissideagainsttheThirdEstate.Buttomakeapromise
of this extent was to circumscribe the Revolution in advance, in
suchawayastorenderitpowerlesstoaccomplishanysubstantial
reforminthefinancesoftheStateandintheentireinternalorgani-
sationofFrance.ItmeantmaintainingintacttheoldFrance,theold
régime,andweshallseelaterhow,inthecourseoftheRevolution,
royaltyandthemaintenanceoffeudalrights—theoldpoliticalform
andtheoldeconomicform—cametobeassociatedinthemindof
thenation.
ItmustbeadmittedthatthismanoeuvreoftheCourtsucceeded
uptoacertainpoint.AftertheRoyalSessionthenobilityaccorded
the King, and especially the Queen, an ovation at the palace, and
thenextdaythereremainedonlyforty-sevennobleswhoadhered
to the two other Orders. Only a few days later, when the rumour
spread that a hundred thousand Parisians were marching on Ver-
sailles,thepeopleatthepalacewereinastateofgeneralconsterna-
tionathearingthisnews,andonanorderfromtheKing,confirmed
bytheweepingQueen—forthenobilitynolongerrelieduponthe
King—mostofthenoblesrejoinedtherepresentativesoftheclergy
and the Third Estate. But even then they scarcely concealed their
hopeofsoonseeingthoserebelsdispersedbyforce.
Meanwhile,allmanuveringoftheCourt,allitsconspiracies,and
even all conversations of such-and-such a prince or noble, were
quickly made known to the revolutionaries. Everything reached
Paris by a thousand secret ways of communication carefully es-
tablished, and the rumours coming from Versailles helped to in-
creasethefermentinthecapital.Themomentalwaysarriveswhen
those in power can no longer depend even upon their servants,
73
advantage of this the middle classes urged the people to open Preface
insurrection, and allowed them to arm themselves. At the same
time they took care to be armed, too, so that they could control ThemoreonestudiestheFrenchRevolutionthecleareritishow
the popular outbreak and prevent its going “too far.” But as the incomplete is the history of that great epoch, how many gaps in
insurrectiongatheredforce,thepeople,contrarytothewillofthe it remain to be filled, how many points demand elucidation. How
middle classes, seized the Bastille, the emblem and support of the could it be otherwise? The Great Revolution, that set all Europe
royal power; whereupon the middle classes, having meanwhile astir, that overthrew everything, and began the task of universal
organised their militia, lost no time in suppressing the men with reconstruction in the course of a few years, was the working of
pikesandre-establishingorder. cosmicforcesdissolvingandre-creatingaworld.Andifinthewrit-
Thatisthetwofoldmovementwhichhastobedescribed. ings of the historians who deal with that period and especially of
WehaveseenthatthepurposeforholdingtheRoyalSessionof Michelet,weadmiretheimmenseworktheyhaveaccomplishedin
June23wastodeclaretotheStates-Generalthattheywerenotthe disentanglingandco-ordinatingtheinnumerablefactsofthevari-
power they wished to be; that the absolute power of the King re- ousparallelmovementsthatmadeuptheRevolution,werealiseat
mainedunimpaired;thattherewasnothingfortheStates-General the same time the vastness of the work which still remains to be
to change in it;1 and that the two privileged orders, the nobility done.
and the clergy, would of themselves enact whatever concessions The investigations made during the past thirty years by the
they should deem useful for a more just distribution of the taxes. school of historical research represented by M. Aulard and the
The benefits which were to be granted to the people would come Société de la Revolution françalse, have certainly furnished most
therefore from the King in person, and those benefits would be the valuable material. They have shed a flood of light upont the acts
abolition of statute labour, in great part already accomplished, of of the Revolution, on its political aspects, and on the struggles
mortmainandoffranc-fief,restrictionofthegamelaws,thesubsti- for supremacy that took place between the various parties. But
tutionofa regularenlistment insteadof drawinglotsfor themili- the study of the economic side of the Revolution is still before
tia, the suppression of the word taille and the organisation of the us, and this study, as M. Aulard rightly says, demands an entire
provincial authorities. All this, however, belonged to the realm of lifetime. Yet without this study the history of the period remains
emptypromises,orindeedwasbutthemerenamingofreform,for incompleteandinmanypointswhollyincomprehensible.Infact,a
all that these reforms implied, all the substance for making these longseriesoftotallynewproblemspresentsitselftothehistorian
changes, had still to be provided; and how could it be provided as soon as he turns his attention to the economic side of the
withoutlayingtheaxetotheprivilegesofthetwosuperiororders? revolu-tioharyupheaval.
Butthemostimportantpointintheroyalspeech,sincethewhole Itwaswiththeintentionofthrowingsomelightupontheseeco-
nomic problems that I began in 1886 to make separate studies of
1Necker’soriginalprojectallowedtheAssemblyarighttopushtheRev- the earliest revolutionary stirrings among the peasants; the peas-
olutionasfarastheestablishmentofacharter,inimitationoftheEnglish,says antrisingsin1789;thestrugglesforandagainstthefeudallaws;the
LouisBlanc;theytookcaretoexcludefromalljointdeliberationstheformofcon-
real causes of the movement of May 31, and so on. Unfortunately
stitutiontobegivenbythenextStates-General(HistoiredelaRevolutionfrançeis,
IwasnotabletomakeanyresearchesintheNationalArchivesof
4vo,voli.p.120).
72 9
France,andmystudieshave,therefore,beenconfinedtothecollec- Such is the usual account, which is repeated at the Republic’s
tionsofprintedmatterintheBritishMuseum,whichare,however, festivals.Itis,however,onlyahalf-truth.Itistruesofarasthedry
inthemselvesexceedinglyrich. statement of facts is concerned; but it does not tell what should
Believingthatitwouldnotbeeasyforthereadertoap-preciate be told about the part played by the people in the rising; nor yet
thebearingofseparatestudiedofthiskindwithoutageneralview aboutthetrueconnectionbetweenthetwoelementsofthemove-
ofthewholedevelopmentoftheRevolutionunderstoodinthelight ment,thepeopleandthemiddleclasses.ForintheParisinsurrec-
of these studies, I soon found it necessary to write a more or less tionleadingtoJulyI4,asallthroughtheRevolution,thereweretwo
consecutive account of the chief events of the Revolution. In this separatecurrentsofdifferentorigin:thepoliticalmovementofthe
account I have not dwelt upon the dramatic side of the episodes middleclassesandthepopularmovementofthemasses.Atcertain
of these disturbed years, which have been so often described, but moments during the great days of the Revolution, the two move-
I have made it my chief object to utilise modern research so as to mentsjoinedhandsinatemporaryalliance,andthentheygained
revealtheintimateconnectionandinterdependenceofthevarious theirgreatvictoriesovertheoldregime.Butthemiddleclassesal-
events which combined to produce the climax of the eighteenth ways distrusted their temporary ally, the people, and gave clear
century’sepic. proof of this in July 1789. The alliance was concluded unwillingly
Thismethodofstudyingseparatlythevariouspartsofthework bythemiddleclasses;andonthemorrowofthe14th,andevendur-
accomplishedbytheRevolutionhasnecessarilyitsowndrawbacks: ingtheinsurrectionitself,theymadehastetoorganisethemselves,
it sometimes entails repetition. I have preferred, however, to take inorderthattheymightbeabletobridletherevoltedpeople.
the risk or reproach for this fault in the hope of impressing more Ever since the Réveillon affair, the people of Paris, suffering
clearlyuponthereader’smindthemightycurrentsofthoughtand from scarcity, seeing bread grow dearer day by day, and deceived
actionthatcameintoconflictduringtheFrenchRevolution—cur- by empty promises, had been trying to revolt. But not feeling
rentssointimatelyblendedwiththeveryessenceofhumannature themselves supported, even by those of the middle classes who
thattheymustinevitablyreappearinthehistoriceventsofthefu- had become prominent in the struggle with royal authority, they
ture. could only chafe the bit. In the meantime, the Court party, led by
AllwhoknowthehistoryoftheRevolutionwillunderstandhow the Queen and the princes, decided to strike a great blow, which
difficult it is to avoid errors in facts when one tries to trace the would put an end to the Assembly and to the popular agitation
developmentofitsimpassionedstruggles.Ishall,therefore,beex- in Paris. They concentrated troops whose attachment to the King
tremelygratefultothosewhowillbegoodenoughtopointoutany and Queen they stimulated by every means, and openly prepared
mistakes I may have made. And I wish to express here my sincer- a coup d’état against the Assembly and against Paris. Then the
estgratitudetomyfriends,JamesGuillaumeandErnestNys,who Assembly, feeling themselves threatened, gave free rein to those
havehadthekindnesstoreadmymanuscriptandhelpmeinthis of their members and friends in Paris who wanted “the appeal to
workwiththeirknowledgeandtheircriticisms. the people”; that is to say, the appeal for a popular rising. And
the people of the faubourgs, desiring nothing better, responded
PeterKropotkin to the appeal. They did not wait for the dismissal of Necker, but
began to rise as early as July 8, and even on June 27. Taking
10 71