Hello from France! Since I live near Paris I will write about the most important event that took place in Paris and that built up the French Republic and inspired many other countries: the French Revolution.
It all started on May the 5th of 1789 when King Louis XVI summoned the Estates General. At that time, France was a monarchy going through a major financial crisis. To find a solution to that issue, the king, who was very unpopular among the people, summoned this assembly formed by members of the three social classes: the clergy, the nobility and the commoners. Unfortunately, the meeting turned out to be a fail and none of the social classes got the solutions they were waiting for. The commoners, tired of having miserable lives, started hating the king even more than before and Louis XVI, feeling the opposition, closed the “Salle des Menus Plaisirs”, the place where the commoners used to meet and discuss political issues. But, they still managed to meet and proclaimed themselves the “National Assembly” on June 17th 1789. On July 14th, the people attacked and burned down the “Bastille” prison, the maximum symbol of the French monarchy. While having more and more power, the National Assembly published on August 26th the “Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen” (Declaration of Rights of Men and of the Citizen) giving mainly the right to man to be born and live freely and equally. But the real end of absolutism was on January the 21st of 1793 when King Louis XVI was executed in front of his people. This event really marked an end to absolute monarchy in France.
Nowadays, the National Assembly still exists even though it has changed a bit. Our National day is on July the 14th to remember the day where the people destroyed the symbol of monarchy, slowly changing it to democracy.
- Ines Latrille - France (near Paris)
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