23 Prairial
An CCXXXIV
Varennes
Since 6 October 1789, Louis XVI had effectively been a prisoner of the Revolution. He lived with his family in the Tuileries Palace, in the heart of Paris, under strict surveillance. But officially he was still king. On the night of 20 to 21 June 1791, he fled the city with his family in a coach. In Varennes he was recognized and brought back to Paris. The National Assembly presented his flight as an abduction – a desperate attempt to save the constitutional monarchy. When Louis swore the oath to the new Constitution a few months later, he had barely one year left in office. For now all French people understood that their king had wanted to abandon them. On 10 August 1792, he was finally overthrown.
1791
- June 20, 1791 · During the night of 21 June, the royal family secretly left the Tuileries Palace. Axel von Fersen, the lover of Marie Antoinette, helped organize the escape. The family travelled eastwards in a large coach with false passports.
- June 21, 1791 · In the morning, the escape was discovered in Paris. The National Assembly was alarmed. On the route, the king was recognized in Sainte-Menehould by Jean-Baptiste Drouet. He rode ahead to Varennes and warned the authorities.
- June 22, 1791 · After midnight, the royal family was detained in the house of the merchant Sauce in Varennes. In the morning, the journey back to Paris began. In Paris, the National Assembly declared that the king had been abducted. It appointed three deputies to accompany the family on the return journey. Late in the evening, the royal family reached Châlons-sur-Marne and spent the night there.
- June 23, 1791 · After morning mass in Châlons, the journey resumed at midday. In the early evening, the deputies Barnave, Pétion and de Faÿ met the royal family at Boursault. In Dormans, the family spent the night at the Hôtel du Louvre.
- June 24, 1791 · Early in the morning, the royal family left Dormans. In Paris, a large demonstration called for the proclamation of a republic. A petition with 30,000 signatures was handed to the National Assembly. In the evening, the royal family reached Meaux.
- June 25, 1791 · Departure from Meaux at 6 a.m. At 3 p.m., the procession reached Pantin, where Lafayette was waiting with his National Guard. He escorted Louis XVI and his family to Paris. At 7 p.m., they arrived at the Tuileries. The return took place in demonstrative silence. The crowd was ordered to remain silent.
Quotes
The King and the royal family were abducted on the 21st of this month.
Declaration of the National Assembly, 22 June 1791
The women brought the king back to Paris, and the men let him escape!
A quotation attributed to the market women of Paris
He was as calm as if nothing had happened. One might have thought he was returning from a hunting party.
Pétion on the king at his arrival in Paris after the failed escape
Le Moniteur
The flight of the royal family
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