On January 21, 1793, King Louis XVI was guillotined in the Place de la Révolution before a crowd of thousands. Nine months later, his wife Marie Antoinette met the same fate. Their executions marked the final, irreversible break between France and its monarchical past.
The Fall of the Monarchy
By 1792 Louis XVI's position was untenable. He had secretly written to foreign rulers begging them to invade France. In June 1791 he attempted to flee the country but was caught and brought back under guard. On August 10, 1792, a massive uprising stormed the Tuileries. Within weeks the monarchy was abolished and the First French Republic proclaimed.
The Trial and the Vote
Louis was put on trial in December 1792, charged with treason. The secret correspondence with foreign powers was damning. Of 721 deputies, 387 voted for immediate death — a majority of just one. A reprieve failed. Louis XVI would die.
"Louis must die so that the Republic may live."
— Maximilien Robespierre, December 1792January 21, 1793
At 10 o'clock in the morning Louis XVI was driven to the Place de la Révolution. On the scaffold he attempted to address the crowd: "I die innocent of all the crimes laid to my charge." A drumroll drowned out his words. The blade fell. "Vive la République!" roared the crowd.
Marie Antoinette — October 16, 1793
Marie Antoinette was tried in October 1793, found guilty of treason, and driven through Paris in an open cart. At the scaffold she accidentally stepped on her executioner's foot and apologized: "Pardon me, sir, I meant not to do it." She was 37 years old.
The End of an Era
Their executions declared there was no going back. The Old Regime was gone. Across Europe, monarchs formed a coalition to go to war against France — pushing the Revolution into its most violent phase: the Reign of Terror.