On November 12, 2024, La Poste issued a block of the series Les Grandes Heures de l'Histoire de France, illustrated by two stamps on the women's march on Versailles on October 5, 1789, which precipitated the end of the reign of Louis XVI.
The Parisian uprising of July 14, 1789 had signed the capitulation of the absolute monarchy before the National Assembly. Since then, the king adopted an attitude of passive resistance: for example, he refused to promulgate the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. With the right of veto and the project of a hereditary Senate on the model of the House of Lords, he intended to dispute power with the Assembly. The revolutionaries' concerns were amplified by the famine that was raging in Paris. On October 5, women of the people gathered in front of the Hôtel de Ville and decided to march on Versailles to demand bread from the king. They were soon followed by a more masculine crowd, as well as by the National Guard, which was entirely in favor of the Revolution.
In the late afternoon, Louis XVI promised the women that he would have a large quantity of flour delivered to the capital. In the evening, he also submitted to political pressure and ratified the laws that he had continued to block. The third demand, that of settling in Paris, was postponed until later. But in the early morning of October 6, groups invaded the Palace of Versailles. Marie-Antoinette had to flee in light clothing to her husband's bedroom. Faced with this show of force, Louis XVI capitulated. He appeared on the balcony, with his wife and the dauphin, and said: "My friends, I will go to Paris." The cheers rang out, the deputies immediately voted to leave for the capital. A few hours later, an impressive procession of 30,000 people set off, symbolically with the royal carriage in the center, now a prisoner of the people. The enthusiastic women chanted: "We are bringing back the baker, the baker's wife and the little baker's boy." » October 6th therefore completes July 14th. From now on, the king is no longer in a position to oppose the forward march of the Revolution.
