The End of a Royal Flight
Unfortunately for the French king and queen, the heavy carriage that carried them was slow. Worse, it had to stop for repairs when its traces broke. The royal couple’s disguises were also flimsy, and they were recognized by many along the route. The royal flight ended at the small town of Varennes, just thirty miles shy of safety. The local postmaster recognized Louis XVI from currency that bore his likeness, and the royal family were arrested and returned to Paris. It was an unmitigated disaster.
Before his flight, the revolutionaries had accepted Louis as a constitutional monarch. They took his assurances that he agreed with them at face value. His flight, coupled with the documents that he and Marie Antoinette had left behind that told them what they really though, changed their minds. Until then, abolition of the monarchy and the declaration of a republic was a fringe position, advocated only by radicals. Now, it quickly gained in popularity. On September 21st, 1792, the monarchy was abolished, and the French Republic was declared.