French Revolution
The French Revolution (1789-1799) was a period of radical political and social upheaval that profoundly transformed France and influenced the entire world. It ended the absolute monarchy of the Bourbons, proclaimed the rights of man and the citizen, and led to the First Republic.
Triggered by a severe financial crisis and the injustice of the three-estate system, the Revolution began with the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789. The period went through successive phases: the constitutional monarchy (1789-1792), the First Republic and the Terror under Robespierre (1793-1794), then the Directory (1795-1799).
The French Revolution laid the foundations of modern democracy: separation of powers, popular sovereignty, and individual freedoms. It ended with Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'état of 18 Brumaire in November 1799.
Key Events
The crowd storms the fortress-prison on July 14. Symbol of the fall of the Ancien Régime and start of the French Revolution.
The National Assembly adopts on August 26 the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, a founding text of modern democracies.
The National Convention abolishes the monarchy and proclaims the French Republic on September 21, 1792.
King Louis XVI is guillotined on January 21 at the Place de la Révolution in Paris. An irreversible break with the Ancien Régime.