Editing French Revolution (section)

=== Abolition of the ''Ancien Régime'' ===
Even the limited reforms the king had announced went too far for [[Marie Antoinette]] and Louis' younger brother the [[Charles X of France|Comte d'Artois]]. On their advice, Louis dismissed Necker again as chief minister on 11 July.{{Sfn|Schama|1989|pp=357–358}} On 12 July, the Assembly went into a non-stop session following rumours that the king was planning to use the [[Swiss Guards]] to force it to close. The news brought crowds of protestors into the streets, and soldiers of the elite {{Lang|fr|[[Gardes Françaises]]}} refused to disperse them.{{Sfn|Schama|1989|pp=380–382}}

On 14 July many of these soldiers joined a crowd [[Storming of the Bastille|attacking the Bastille]], a royal fortress with large stores of arms and ammunition. Its governor, [[Bernard-René de Launay]], surrendered after several hours of fighting that cost the lives of 83 attackers. Launay was taken to the {{Lang|fr|[[Hôtel de Ville, Paris|Hôtel de Ville]]}}, where he was killed and his head placed on a pike and paraded around the city. Although rumoured to hold many prisoners, the Bastille held only seven: four forgers, a lunatic, a failed assassin, and a deviant nobleman. Nevertheless, it was a potent symbol of the {{Lang|fr|[[Ancien Régime]]}} and it was demolished in the following weeks.{{Sfn|Schama|1989|pp=404–405}} [[Bastille Day]] has become the French national holiday.{{Sfn|Davidson|2016|p=29}}

[[File:Prise de la Bastille.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|The [[Storming of the Bastille]] on 14 July 1789; the iconic event of the Revolution, still commemorated each year as [[Bastille Day]]]]

Alarmed by the prospect of losing control of the capital, Louis appointed the [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]] commander of the [[Garde Nationale|National Guard]], with [[Jean-Sylvain Bailly]] as head of a new administrative structure known as the [[Paris Commune (1789–1795)|Commune]]. On 17 July, Louis visited Paris accompanied by 100 deputies, where he was greeted by Bailly and accepted a [[Flag of France|tricolore]] [[cockade]] to loud cheers. However, it was clear power had shifted from his court; he was welcomed as 'Louis XVI, father of the French and king of a free people.'{{Sfn|Schama|1989|pp=423–424}}

The short-lived unity enforced on the Assembly by a common threat quickly dissipated. Deputies argued over constitutional forms, while civil authority rapidly deteriorated. On 22 July, former Finance Minister [[Joseph Foullon de Doué|Joseph Foullon]] and his son were lynched by a Parisian mob, and neither Bailly nor Lafayette could prevent it. In rural areas, wild rumours and paranoia resulted in the formation of militia and an agrarian insurrection known as the [[Great Fear]].{{Sfn|Hibbert|1982|p=93}} The breakdown of law and order and frequent attacks on aristocratic property led much of the nobility to flee abroad. These ''[[émigré]]s'' funded reactionary forces within France and urged foreign monarchs to back a [[counter-revolution]].{{Sfn|Lefebvre|1962|pp=187–188}}

In response, the Assembly published the [[August Decrees]] which [[Abolition of feudalism in France|abolished feudalism]]. Over 25% of French farmland was subject to [[Manorialism|feudal dues]], providing the nobility with most of their income; these were now cancelled, along with church tithes. While their former tenants were supposed to pay them compensation, collecting it proved impossible, and the obligation was annulled in 1793.{{Sfn|Forster|1967|pp=71–86}} Other decrees included equality before the law, opening public office to all, freedom of worship, and cancellation of special privileges held by provinces and towns.{{Sfn|Lefebvre|1962|p=130}}

With the suspension of the 13 regional {{Lang|fr|parlements}} in November, the key institutional pillars of the old regime had all been abolished in less than four months. From its early stages, the Revolution therefore displayed signs of its radical nature; what remained unclear was the constitutional mechanism for turning intentions into practical applications.{{Sfn|Furet|Ozouf|1989|p=112}}