Women's March on Versailles

The Women's March on Versailles, also known as The March on Versailles and The Bread March of Women, was an event in the French Revolution. On October 5, 1789, a crowd of Parisian women demanding bread for their families decided to march on the Palace of Versailles. They carried with them pitch forks, muskets, crowbars and other weaponry.

The purpose of the march was to obtain bread and force the price of bread down to where it had been. At this time, bread was the main diet of the French people. So, when the price of the bread that these people, particularly the working class, had been purchasing increased greatly they had difficulty trying to get food.

When they got to the Hotel de Ville, around 6,000 women had already been gathered and more women joined them as they marched through the streets. The men were also there to encourage the women to perform the march. When the women reached Versailles, they stormed through the gates and demanded bread from the king. The king gave in and the women returned to Paris by carriage at the king's expense. The king also agreed to return to Paris with his family.