During the late 1700’s, bread was the main diet for the French. King Louis XVI lived in Versailles at the time, so the bread was very expensive. The women of Paris wanted the bread to be more affordable so that they could feed their families and themselves. Having to pay too much for bread a crowd of women marched about 13 miles from paris to versailles, in the pouring rain. They continuously shouted “Bread!” and demanded to see the king. These women were marching to have their families well fed at night, not just to make bread cheaper.
This crowd of women directed it’s anger towards Marie Antoinette, the Austrian born queen who lived a life of riches, great pleasure, and extravagance. The public was very angered by this and felt that it was unfair. Even though she gave to the poor, her actions were never seen, her lifestyle overshadowed her actions. Marie lived
…show more content…
The king wasn’t very happy about this demand, but the next morning he and his family set out to go to Paris. While on this Procession, the women sat at the front of seized cannons telling local bystanders that they were bringing Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and their son back to Paris. Louis XVI agreed to go to Paris because he promised the people of Paris bread. Some people wanted the king to leave Versailles and go back to Paris, to get away from the corrupting influences of the aristocracy and be closer to the people.
The march on Versailles’ main purpose was to obtain bread and force the price of bread to be cheaper than what it originally was. As the cost of flour began to rise people were left to starve, unable to afford bread anymore. This ultimately became an important source of revolt as bread was and still remains the main item of every French grocery list. The people living in Paris fed bread to their families, if they didn’t have enough money to buy bread then their families would