The ground for the French Revolution of 1789 had been under preparation for several decades, and the actual drama unfolded with the transformation of the feudal parliament of France (the Estate General) into the National Assembly in the last weak of June. By the first week of July, the stage seemed set for introduction of fundamental reforms in different spheres of life. But before the National Assembly could proceed with the task of reconstruction it faced a challenge from King Louis XVI.

Early in July, he ordered gradual transfer of the royal troops from the eastern frontier to the vicinity of Paris and Versailles, with the obvious intention of using them in case the National Assembly proved too revolutionary. Moreover, there was widespread rumour that foreign invasion in favour of the Bourbon monarch was imminent. The revolution, it seemed, was going to be nipped in the bud.

At this critical moment the Parisian populace (the sans-culottes) -- the artisans, shopkeepers, small merchants, domestic servants, vagabonds and industrial labour -- took to the streets on July 12. Soon, the processions of demonstrators reached the Boulevards, raised barricades, pillaged the grain stores, plundered the house of the police chief and broke into the debtors' prisons.

As the municipal administration collapsed the next day electors from Paris appointed a permanent committee (the Commune) to look after the administration of the capital city and set up a militia (the National Guards).

To arm themselves, the insurgents took 32000 guns from the Invalides on the day after (July 14) and surged to the east end of Paris, where stood the fortress and the prison of Bastille built in the eleventh century by William the Conqueror. Although, since the accession of Louis XVI, the Bastille no longer harboured political prisoners (there were only seven on July14) it was still regarded as the symbol of monarchical despotism.

However, the primary motive of the insurgents was to appropriate its arms and ammunition for use in the defense of the National Assembly. After a fierce fight, in which the French Guards and the National Guards took part, the Bastille surrendered.

Its contents were scattered to the winds and every stone of the building itself was torn down. But the victory was achieved at a huge price -- the insurgents lost 98 men and 75 were wounded. As against this, less than ten perished on the other side.

Meanwhile, the provincial towns soon witnessed similar developments. The Paris revolution had even greater impact in the rural areas, which were already in ferment. The peasants attacked the monasteries and the establishments of the members of the nobility, and burned manorial rolls and records of feudal obligations. The royal administration ceased to function.

Why did the Parisian populace take to the streets?

Firstly, there was acute food crisis due to crop failure in 1788, and prices increased sharply, reaching the highest point in the middle of July. Consequently, there were food riots in Paris and elsewhere in the country in the early months of 1789. In particular, the san-culottes resented the dismissal of Necker who was planning to import food grains and distribute them at affordable price.

Secondly, as the populace was convinced that the city, surrounded by royal troops and brigands, would first be bombarded from Montmartre and the Bastille and then pillaged, it was worried about security. Thirdly, it was not only economic distress and panic situation, which drove the Parisian populace to the streets; they felt instinctively that their own interests and those of the National Assembly were the same. Because, in the revolutionary situation in 1789, they dreamt of a better future.

As pointed out by socialist historian, Georges Lefevre, this vision united the common men and women with the other groups belonging to the Third Estate, and they became a dynamic source of revolutionary idealism.

The Fall of Bastille, and the events that followed in other parts of the country were such that even the king did not fail to perceive their meaning. He instantly withdrew the troops, recalled Necker, visited Paris, recognised the new government of Paris, and confirmed the appointment of Lafayette as the Commander of the National Guards. The Bastille had always been looked upon as a symbol of Bourbon despotism. Now its fall was taken to mean the end of absolute monarchy in France.

The Patriots (members of the Patriotic party formed in the early days of the Revolution) dated their letters from July 14 as "the first day of the first year of liberty." However, its significance goes far deeper than this. It provoked, or rather strengthened, a series of mini- revolutions throughout France, and effective power passed from the supporters of the Old Regime (the king and the aristocracy) to the Patriots.

The National Assembly followed up this victory of the sans-culottes by passing, on August 11, a legislation, which abolished special privileges of the clergy and nobility. At about the same time, it issued a document under the title: "Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen," which announced the principles of equality, popular sovereignty, freedom of association, religious tolerance, and the sanctity of private property.

Now it seemed as though radical reform was going to proceed without further interruption. But the king decided to strike again. Under the excessive influence of his wife Marie Antoinette and goaded by his advisers, he brought in royal troops early in October to take action against the Deputies and their allies -- the Parisian populace.

The latter was still starving, and they stepped in for the second time. On October 5, the starving women (and some males dressed as women) of Paris, armed with sticks and clubs, marched to Versailles.

The next day the king and the queen were compelled to head the procession back to Paris. From then on the king became a prisoner in the hands of the revolutionaries. Thus, the October days completed the work of July 14, and made Paris the center of the revolution.

The fall of the Bastille and march of the women saved the Revolution. However, the former event was obviously considered more important, and on July 14, 1790, there was a huge celebration on the occasion of its first anniversary. Some 50,000 delegates from different parts of the country (including 14,000 National Guardsmen), the members of National Assembly, the king and the queen, vast multitude of Parisians, 200 priests and 1200 musicians, took oath of supreme loyalty and devotion to the nation.

At this time, and thereafter, it became fashionable for every city and village throughout France to erect an altar to the fatherland, with the "Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen" engraved upon it, and conduct patriotic rites in front of it.

This was the beginning of the annual celebration, which continues even today. True, the state that emerged from the first revolution and the whole revolutionary era (1789-99) was, for all practical purposes, a bourgeoisie state, and the common men and women, including the Parisian populace, gained very little. They were even denied the right to vote. But that is a much longer story.

M. Mufakharul Islam is a teacher of History, Dhaka University.