Vanguard of the march on Versailles, 5th October, 1789
Selected by Guy Chaussinand-Nogaret
From the Thuileries to Versailles. The Vanguard of the women marching to Versailles, 5 October, 1789. The women's march to Versailles marked a decisive moment in the transition from Royal Absolutism to a constitutional government. The King's power to delay and even veto legislation proposed by the Assembly was to dwindle once both moved to Paris and remained under the watchful eye of its populace. Whether the Women's March was the product of machinations by more powerful interests or a hunger march which got out of hand remains a matter of dispute, but the spectacle of the guns being dragged to Versailles by the women of Paris served as inspiration to the revolutionary impulse.
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