Please rotate your device to landscape mode to view the table.


Year Date Event Details
1789 May 5 Estates-General convenes at Versailles King Louis XVI summons the Estates-General to address France's financial crisis. This assembly consists of representatives from the three estates: clergy, nobility, and commoners.
1789 June 17 Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly Frustrated with the voting system, representatives of the Third Estate (commoners) break away and form the National Assembly, claiming to represent the people of France.
1789 June 20 Tennis Court Oath Members of the National Assembly swear not to disband until a new constitution for France is established. This oath is taken in an indoor tennis court after they are locked out of their usual meeting hall.
1789 July 14 Storming of the Bastille Parisian revolutionaries and mutinous troops storm the Bastille prison, a symbol of royal authority. This event marks the start of the French Revolution and is now celebrated as Bastille Day.
1789 August 4 Abolition of feudalism The National Constituent Assembly abolishes the feudal system of obligations and taxes. This marks the end of the ancien régime in France.
1789 August 26 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Assembly adopts this fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining individual and collective rights of all estates as universal.
1789 October 5-6 Women's March on Versailles A group of women march from Paris to Versailles to protest the high price of bread. They force the royal family to return to Paris with them, effectively becoming prisoners of the revolution.
1790 July 12 Civil Constitution of the Clergy The National Constituent Assembly passes this law that subordinates the Roman Catholic Church in France to the French government.
1791 June 20-21 Flight to Varennes The royal family attempts to flee Paris but is recognized and arrested at Varennes. This event severely undermines the credibility of the constitutional monarchy.
1791 September 3 Constitution of 1791 adopted The National Constituent Assembly completes France's first written constitution, establishing a constitutional monarchy.
1792 April 20 War of the First Coalition begins France declares war on Austria, marking the start of the French Revolutionary Wars. Soon, Prussia, Sardinia, and other powers join Austria against France.
1792 August 10 Storming of the Tuileries Palace Insurgents attack the royal residence in Paris, massacring the Swiss Guards and imprisoning the royal family. This event effectively ends the monarchy.
1792 September 2-7 September Massacres Mobs in Paris and other cities kill over a thousand prisoners, many of whom are clergy or nobility, out of fear of counter-revolutionary activity.
1792 September 21 Abolition of the monarchy The newly elected National Convention abolishes the monarchy and establishes the First French Republic.
1793 January 21 Execution of Louis XVI The former king is tried for treason and executed by guillotine in the Place de la Révolution (now Place de la Concorde) in Paris.
1793 March-October Revolt in the Vendée A counter-revolutionary uprising in the Vendée region against mass conscription and anti-clerical policies leads to a brutal civil war.
1793 June 2 Fall of the Girondins The more moderate Girondin faction is purged from the National Convention by the radical Jacobins, led by Robespierre.
1793 July 13 Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat Charlotte Corday, a Girondin sympathizer, stabs the radical journalist Marat in his bathtub.
1793 September 5 Reign of Terror begins The Committee of Public Safety initiates a period of violence and mass executions of "enemies of the revolution."
1793 October 16 Execution of Marie Antoinette The former queen is tried and executed by guillotine, nine months after her husband.
1794 March 24 Execution of Hébertists Ultra-radical faction led by Jacques Hébert is executed, accused of attempting to overthrow the government.
1794 April 5 Execution of Dantonists Georges Danton and his supporters, seen as too moderate, are executed on Robespierre's orders.
1794 July 27 Thermidorian Reaction Robespierre and his allies are arrested in a coup, marking the end of the Reign of Terror.
1794 July 28 Execution of Robespierre Robespierre and 21 of his supporters are executed without trial, ending the Jacobin dictatorship.
1795 August 22 Constitution of Year III adopted This constitution establishes the Directory, a five-member collective executive branch.
1796 March 2 Napoleon Bonaparte appointed commander of the Army of Italy Napoleon begins his rise to power with a series of military victories in Italy.
1797 September 4 Coup of 18 Fructidor Three Directors, with military support, purge royalists from the government to prevent a monarchist restoration.
1799 November 9-10 Coup of 18 Brumaire Napoleon Bonaparte overthrows the Directory and establishes the French Consulate, effectively ending the French Revolution and beginning the Napoleonic era.