The Flight to Varennes

On the night of 20–21 June 1791 the royal family secretly left the Tuileries in disguise, heading for the fortress of Montmédy near the eastern border, where loyal troops waited. The king left behind a declaration criticising the Revolution's work since 1789. The escape was slowed by delays, and at Sainte-Menehould the postmaster Jean-Baptiste Drouet recognised the king, reportedly from his likeness on money.

The family was stopped at Varennes and brought back to Paris on 25 June through silent, hostile crowds. The flight shattered the idea of a constitutional king who sincerely accepted the Revolution. The assembly, hoping to save the constitutional settlement, claimed the king had been 'abducted', but many Parisians no longer believed him trustworthy. Historians see Varennes as the moment when republicanism became a serious popular movement.