International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

The Paris Hôtel de Ville, or City Hall, found itself at the heart of the four major French revolutions that shook Paris: those of 1789, 1830, 1848, and 1871. In each case, the Paris City Hall symbolized the importance of the capital city and the Parisian people in national politics. During the French Revolution of 1789, the local city hall erupted onto the French political scene on July 14, the day now celebrated as Bastille Day. Angry protesters who had taken the Bastille turned toward the Hôtel de Ville and gathered on the Place de Grève, the square in front of the building. They overturned the municipal government and killed the head municipal magistrate, Jacques de Flesselles. Following this event, the site was at the center of a decade of revolutionary tumult. By 1793, it was commonplace for Parisian revolutionaries to gather in front of the city hall to manifest their discontent before marching on the Constituent Assembly, the governing body. In July 1830 , the city hall reappeared on the political scene, as the Bourbons, the royal family deposed in 1792 and restored in 1814, were deposed once again. Following the abdication of King Charles X in the throes of revolution, a municipal commission formed within the Hôtel de Ville to govern the nation as a provisional government. The July Monarchy was finally established when Louis-Philippe d'Orléans, the new king, embraced ... log in or subscribe to read full text