Women's March on Versailles, October 5th 1789, the Birth of Women's Rights Movements

The Women’s March on Versailles, which took place on October 5th, 1789, is not only one of the pivotal events in the early stages of the French Revolution, but arguably laid the foundations for future women’s rights advances across Europe and the wider world.

It demonstrated the power of collective action by women and served as a symbol of their political agency in a time when their voices were largely unheard. The march was driven by immediate economic concerns, especially the price of bread, but it also represented a broader frustration with the inequality that women faced in French society.

This event would ultimately contribute to a legacy that influenced the modern struggle for women’s rights.

Social Conditions for Women in Pre-Revolutionary France

In the late 18th century, women in France lived under deeply entrenched patriarchal structures. Their legal status was largely defined by their relationship to men, and they were considered dependents throughout their lives—first under their fathers and later under their husbands.

Women had little control over property, limited access to education, and were excluded from political life. Even in the realm of employment, women were confined to roles such as domestic servants, seamstresses, or workers in small family-owned businesses, earning far less than men and facing harsh working conditions.

The economic plight of women, particularly those in the lower classes, was dire. In the years leading up to the French Revolution, France suffered from food shortages, high taxes, and skyrocketing bread prices. Bread was the staple of the French diet, especially for the working class, and its scarcity could mean starvation.

These hardships disproportionately affected women, who were typically responsible for feeding their families. As food became harder to come by, women were among the first to feel the strain, leading to growing anger and frustration.

At the same time, there was a burgeoning awareness of the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire, who questioned traditional authority and advocated for individual rights.

However, these ideas were primarily applied to men, and women were often excluded from discussions of liberty and equality.

Yet, despite being marginalised, many women were inspired by these ideas and began to envision a society where their voices mattered. It was in this charged atmosphere that the Women’s March on Versailles took place.

The Women March 12 miles to Versailles

The march was sparked by both the economic crisis and political tensions of the time. On the morning of October 5th, 1789, a crowd of women, many of them market women from Paris, gathered to demand action from the French monarchy. Their immediate goal was to secure bread for their families, but the march soon took on a broader political dimension.

EU Today

Armed with makeshift weapons like pikes and kitchen knives, thousands of women began the 12-mile march from Paris to the Palace of Versailles, where King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette resided.

The march was significant for several reasons. First, it highlighted the dire economic conditions in France and the desperation of the working class.

The women who marched on Versailles were not simply passive victims of poverty; they were active participants in seeking solutions to their hardships.

Their willingness to confront the king directly was a bold move that left none in doubt about their determination.

When they arrived at Versailles, the women demanded that the king and his family return to Paris, where they could be more directly accountable to the people. After a tense confrontation, Louis XVI agreed to their demands, and the royal family moved to Paris, signaling the end of the monarchy’s relative isolation from the capital’s unrest.

Influence on Women’s Rights

Although the Women’s March on Versailles did not immediately result in significant legal changes for women, it was a watershed moment in terms of women’s political engagement. The march demonstrated that women could organize, mobilize, and have a tangible impact on political events, even in a society that largely dismissed their concerns. It was an assertion of their presence in the public sphere, which had traditionally been dominated by men.

Olympe de Gouges (1748 – 1793)

The event also helped to inspire early feminist thinkers like Olympe de Gouges, who, in 1791, penned the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen. In this document, de Gouges directly challenged the exclusion of women from the revolutionary discourse on human rights, calling for equality in all spheres of life.

Though her efforts were largely ignored, and she was executed during the Reign of Terror, de Gouges’ writings laid an important intellectual foundation for future feminist movements.

In the centuries that followed, the Women’s March on Versailles became a symbol of the power of women’s collective action. Its legacy can be seen in the modern struggle for women’s rights, where women continue to fight for political representation, economic equality, and social justice.

The march is often referenced as one of the earliest instances of women taking direct political action, inspiring later movements such as the suffrage movement of the 19th and 20th centuries and the feminist movements of the 1960s and beyond.

Today, the march serves as a reminder that women have always been active agents in history, even when their contributions have been overlooked or minimized. It illustrates the importance of economic justice to gender equality, a lesson that remains relevant in contemporary struggles for women’s rights around the world.

Although the march did not immediately resolve the systemic inequalities faced by women, it provided a powerful example of how women could organise and challenge the status quo. Its legacy endures in the ongoing fight for gender equality, reminding us that collective action can lead to profound social change.

Main Image: By Unknown author – This file comes from Gallica Digital Library and is available under the digital ID btv1b8410839z/f1, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81743244