Editing Jean-Paul Marat (section)

=== Estates General and Fall of the Bastille ===
[[File:Jean Garneray Marat.jpg|thumb|right|Marat by [[Jean-François Garneray]]]]
In 1788, the [[Assembly of Notables]] advised [[Louis XVI]] to assemble the [[Estates-General of 1789|Estates-General]] for the first time in 175 years. According to Marat, in the latter half of 1788 he had been deathly ill. Upon hearing of the King's decision to call together the [[Estates General (France)|Estates General]], however, he explains that the "news had a powerful effect on me; my illness suddenly broke and my spirits revived".<ref>[[#Conner2012|Conner (2012)]], p. 32</ref> He strongly desired to contribute his ideas to the coming events and subsequently abandoned his career as a scientist and doctor, taking up his pen on behalf of the [[Estates of the realm|Third Estate]].<ref name="Bianchi2017" />

Marat anonymously published his first contribution to the revolution in February 1789, titled ''Offrande à la Patrie'' (''Offering to the Nation''), which touched on some of the same points as the [[Abbé Sieyès]]' famous "''Qu'est-ce que le Tiers État?''" ("[[What is the Third Estate?]]").<ref name="Bianchi2017">{{cite book|author=Bianchi, Serge |title=Marat. "L'Ami du peuple"|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DWYkDwAAQBAJ|date=2017|publisher=Humensis|isbn=978-2-410-00662-9}}</ref> Marat claimed that this work caused a sensation throughout France, though he likely exaggerated its effect as the pamphlet mostly echoed ideas similar to many other pamphlets and cahiers circulating at the time.<ref>[[#Gottschalk|Gottschalk]], pp. 38–39</ref> This was followed by a "Supplément de l'Offrande" in March, where he was less optimistic, expressing displeasure with the King's ''Lettres Royales'' of 24 January. In August 1789, he published ''La Constitution, ou Projet de déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen'', intended to influence the drafting of France's new constitution, then being debated in the [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly.]]<ref name="Bianchi2017" /> In this work, he builds his theories upon ideas taken from [[Montesquieu]] and Rousseau, claiming that the sovereignty of the nation rests with the people and emphasizing the need for a [[separation of powers]]. He argues for a [[constitutional monarchy]], believing that a [[republic]] is ineffective in large nations.<ref>[[#Gottschalk|Gottschalk]], pp. 45–47</ref> Marat's work elicited no response from the National Assembly.

On 14 July, three days after Louis XVI dismissed [[Jacques Necker]] as his financial advisor, enraged Parisians attacked the [[Les Invalides|Hotel des Invalides]] and the Bastille, marking the first insurrection of the French Revolution. Marat was not directly involved in the [[Storming of the Bastille|Fall of the Bastille]] but sought to glorify his role that day by claiming that he had intercepted a group of German soldiers on [[Pont Neuf]]. He claims that these soldiers were seeking to crush the revolution in its infancy,  and that he had successfully convinced a crowd to force the soldiers to surrender their weapons.<ref>[[#Conner2012|Conner (2012)]], pp. 39–40</ref> Whether or not this event actually occurred is questionable as there are no other known accounts that confirm Marat's story.