French Revolution of 1848 - The Events of February

The Events of February

Because political gatherings and demonstrations were outlawed in France, activists of the largely middle class opposition to the government began to hold a series of fund-raising banquets. This campaign of banquets (Campagne des banquets), was intended to circumvent the governmental restriction on political meetings and provide a legal outlet for popular criticism of the regime. The campaign began in July 1847. Frederick Engels was in Paris dating from October 1847 and had a chance to observe and attend some of these banquets. He had a chance to write a series of articles on these banquets. Like "The Reform Movement in France" which was published in the La Rèforme on 20 November 1847, "Split in the Camp—the Rèforme and the National—March of Democracy published in the The Northern Star on 4 December 1847, "Reform Banquet at Lille—Speech of LeDru-Rollin" published in The Northern Star on 16 December 1847, "Reform Movement in France—Banquet of Dijon" published in The Northern Star on 18 December 1848, "The Réforme and the National" published in the Deutsche-Brüsseler-Zeitung on 30 December 1847, and "Louis Blanc's Speech at the Dijon Banquet" published in the Deutsche-Brusseler-Zeitung on 30 December 1847. The banquet campaign lasted until all political banquets were outlawed by the French government under Louis Philippe in February 1848. As a result, the people revolted, helping to unite the efforts of the popular Republicans and the liberal Orleanists, who turned their back on Louis-Philippe.

Anger over the outlawing of the political banquets brought crowds of Parisians flooding out into the streets at noon on 22 February 1848. The crowds directed their anger against the Citizen King Louis Philippe and his chief minister for foreign and domestic policy--François Pierre Guillaume Guizot. Shouting "Down with Guizot" and "Long Live the Reform" the crowds marched past Guizot's residence. The crowds erected barricades in the streets of Paris, and fighting broke out between the citizens and the Parisian municipal guards.

At 2pm the next day, 23rd February, Prime Minister Guizot resigned. Upon hearing the news of Guizot's resignation, a large crowd gathered outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. An officer ordered the crowd not to pass, but people in the front of the crowd were being pushed by the rear. The officer ordered his men to fix bayonets, probably wishing to avoid shooting. However, in what is widely regarded as an accident, a soldier discharged his musket, which resulted in the rest of the soldiers firing into the crowd. Fifty two people were killed.

Paris was soon a barricaded city. Omnibuses were turned into barricades, and thousands of trees were felled. Fires were set, and angry citizens began converging to the royal palace.

King Louis Philippe abdicated and fled to the UK.