By October 1789, a series of poor harvests combined with economic mismanagement had led to food shortages and soaring bread prices in Paris. Meanwhile, news of a royal banquet spread through the city, and on the morning of 5 October, a large crowd of women gathered in the markets of Paris to protest the extravagance of the court at a time when ordinary people were struggling to eat.
Armed with makeshift weapons, the women marched towards the Hôtel de Ville where their numbers grew. Many men also joined their ranks and Stanislas-Marie Maillard, who had been one of the protesters at the Bastille in July, persuaded the crowd to march to the Palace of Versailles and address their grievances directly to King Louis XVI. They hoped to persuade him to move to Paris, where he would be able to directly address the problems facing the people.
By the time the crowd arrived at Versailles six hours later, they had been joined by National Guardsmen under General Lafayette, who reluctantly supported the marchers’ demands. The demonstrators soon surrounded the palace and demanded an audience with the king, who met with a small delegation of women.
Louis promised to provide more grain to Paris, but this did not satisfy the crowd who camped outside the palace overnight. The following morning, tensions escalated as the palace was broken into and some royal guards were beaten or even killed by the mob. The situation was only defused when Louis agreed to return to Paris with his family. They were escorted back to the capital by a jubilant crowd, marking a shift in the relationship between the king and the people.
On the 5th October 1789, a large crowd of Parisian women marched to the Palace of Versailles to
demand food, triggering the October Days. Welcome to HistoryPod.
By October 1789, a series of poor harvests, combined with chronic economic mismanagement,
had led to food shortages and soaring bread prices in Paris. Meanwhile, news of a royal banquet
spread through the city, and on the morning of the 5th October, a large crowd of women gathered
in the markets of Paris to protest the extravagance of the court at a time when ordinary people were
struggling to eat. Armed with makeshift weapons, the women marched towards the Hotel de Ville,
where their numbers grew. Many men also joined their ranks, and Monsieur Mayard, who'd been one
of the protesters at the Bastille in July, persuaded the crowd to march to the Palace of
Versailles and address their grievances directly to King Louis XVI. They hoped to persuade him to
move to Paris, where he'd be able to directly address the problems facing the people.
By the time the crowd arrived at Versailles six hours later, they'd been joined by national
guardsmen under General Lafayette, who reluctantly supported the marchers' demands.
The demonstrators soon surrounded the palace and demanded an audience with the king,
who agreed to meet with a small delegation of women. Louis promised to provide more grain to
Paris, but this did not satisfy the crowd, who camped outside the palace overnight.
The following morning, tensions escalated and the palace was broken into,
while some royal guards were beaten or even killed by the mob. The situation was only
diffused when Louis agreed to return to Paris with his family. They were escorted back to the
jubilant crowd, marking a seismic shift in the relationship between the king and his people.
