Louis XVI Failure to Prevent the French Revolution

Following the Women’s March to Versailles in October 1789, King Louis XVI was taken back to Paris to face the repercussions of the revolution directly. For the next two years, he would be turned into a constitutional monarch, forcibly agreeing to the majority of the policies that the 3rd Estate established, not wanting to risk further aggression by the French people. tk This continued until June of 1791, where King Louis XVI together with his family attempted to escape France to Austria seeking asylum. The ‘Flight to Varennes’ as it was called, was disrupted when King Louis’s carriage stopped in Varennes, where a local postmaster recognized the King and his family. King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were quickly arrested and brought back to Paris under heavy security. Following the arrest of King Louis XVI, the French people understood that he attempted to abandon his country and his people. This event would cause a sudden dramatic increase in radicalization that was felt throughout the revolution. In this analysis, radicalization is defined as a sudden increase in extreme and aggressive responses to the government and the need for people to have equality between all social hierarchies.

The capture of King Louis XVI led to a clear divide in the revolution between moderate parties and radicals. This conflict between both groups would lead to an increase in radicalism by causing a sudden rise in aggression between both parties. On July 17, 1791, following the announcement by the Constituent Assembly that King Louis XVI would be reinstated as a constitutional monarch, a radical, republican group named the Jacobin Club, accumulated in the Champ de Mars demanding that the King be removed from his throne. In response to this, the Feuillants, a moderate party in control of the Constituent Assembly, led by General Marquis Lafayette, ordered the National Guard to open fire to disperse the crowd. The ‘Champ de Mars Massacre’ as it was called took the lives of an estimated 50 men and women. This event was the first clear sign at a fundamental change in the revolution as until this event, the majority of the deaths occurred in the Clergy and Nobility, as they were seen as oppressors to the third estate. This event showed a clear difference between both parties' ways to achieve equality. On one hand, republican parties such as the Jacobin Club led by Maximilien Robespierre wanted to see equality achieved by having the king deposed or executed for betraying the revolution, and could not see equality be achieved while the King still had power. On the other hand, moderate parties such as the Feuillants believed that they could be used King Louis as a figurehead, and by making France a constitutional monarchy, would they achieve equality. This caused an increase in radicalization as the absence of a complete monarchy would lead both groups to try and fill that void by creating a new government to support the people. This increase in radicalization on both sides to achieve their version of equality would lead to the downfall of the Constituent Assembly and with it the French Monarchy. As William Doyle states following the 'Champ de Mars Massacre', the republican parties in France had been ‘broken’. Hundreds of activists were arrested, newspapers supporting the republican party were destroyed. Important members such as Jean-Paul Marat, and Maximilien Robespierre, would be forced into hiding and turned into martyrs by many in the 3rd Estate.

In addition to division inside the government, radicalization by the French people against the Government arose from the capture of King Louis. The King’s lack of punishment and reinstatement following the 'Flight to Varennes' was the boiling point for many in the 3rd Estate. In the following weeks, riots by the 3rd Estate would break out against the Assembly, questioning their loyalty to the revolution and protesting for equality. The reinstatement of the king was talked about throughout the press, in particular, in Père Duchesne no. 61, written by Jacques–René Hébert, he wrote about the reinstatement of the King; “They still want to stick the crown on the head of a stag, but no, dammit this will not happen!" tk In summary, following King Louis’s arrest, the tension between the Constituent Assembly and the third estate reached an unprecedented level in the wake of events such as the “Champs de Mars Massacre’, and the reinstatement of King Louis. This tension would allow for radical parties to gain popularity and support, while the moderates would slowly shrivel into insignificance, allowing for a radical government to take control of France, tk

On the other hand, an argument could be made that the increase in radicalism following the King’s arrest was merely the continuation of the radicalization that began from the storming of the Bastille and the killing of Governor De Launay, and that the king’s arrest did not have as much of an impact as stated previously. There is evidence to prove this point, in July of 1789, years before the ‘Flight to Varennes’, the storming of the Bastille and the killing of Governor De Launay were the first major events that began the wave of radicalization that would be so prevalent in the French Revolution. tk These events would be the culmination of years of oppression felt by the 3rd Estate in France. Although the Bastille was a key moment in the revolution, starting the wave of radicalism that would be the motivation for political parties such as the Jacobin Club. The capture of King Louis XVI had a greater impact on the increase of radicalization as it caused the revolution to go from one against the inequality of the third estate to a revolution against the monarchy and the fabric of French society. As stated previously, the capture of King Louis not only led to the divide inside the government that would culminate in the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly, it would lead to a divide between the government and its people that would later cause the rise of the Jacobin Club into power and with it the destruction of the French Monarchy entirely. 

In conclusion, when looking at the increase in radicalization during the French Revolution, although the storming of the Bastille and the capture of Governor De Launay paved the way for an increase in killing and aggression shown throughout the French Revolution which caused many to die. The capture of King Louis XVI led to an immediate sudden increase in radicalism in the French Revolution which would impact the future of France entirely. the capture of King Louis XVI changed the revolution from being against the oppression felt by the third estate to a revolution against the fabric of French society itself which with the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly would then partially destroy the 700-year history France had as a monarchy and would lead to the first Democratic Republic in Europe.