The flight to Varennes

On June 21, 1791, fleeing French King Louis XVI and his family were captured at Varennes-en-Argonne. An excerpt from the article:

"Despite a series of blunders, the royal entourage escaped Paris and travelled to within 30 kilometres of its goal. At Varennes, the king was recognised and identified by a local postmaster. Louis and his family were promptly detained and hustled back to Paris under guard.

The flight to Varennes, though minor in itself, signed the death warrant for bourgeois dreams of a French constitutional monarchy. The king had attempted to flee the revolution and could no longer be trusted. His working alliance with the National Constituent Assembly and his acceptance of the Constitution of 1791 were exposed as fraudulent."