The Bastille is stormed

A Paris crowd attacked the Bastille to seize gunpowder and weapons. The fortress held just seven prisoners, but its fall became a symbol of the French Revolution.

Context

By July 1789 Paris was tense. The National Assembly had formed in June, the king had gathered troops near the capital, and the dismissal of the popular minister Jacques Necker on 11 July set off unrest. Crowds looked for weapons, and after taking muskets from the Invalides they went to the Bastille, where a large store of gunpowder was held.

The Bastille was a medieval fortress that had long served as a state prison, and many Parisians saw it as a symbol of royal power. After hours of negotiation and fighting, the garrison surrendered. Its governor, Bernard-René de Launay, was killed by the crowd, and dozens of attackers died during the assault.

The tradition that it held only seven prisoners is well documented. The importance of the event lay in what it showed: a royal fortress had fallen to ordinary Parisians and soldiers who joined them.

The building was demolished within months. France later chose 14 July as its national holiday, which is now widely called Bastille Day.

Historians note that the crowd was made up largely of artisans and shopkeepers from Paris, along with some soldiers of the French Guards, which helps explain why the episode is often read as a sign of popular power in the early Revolution.