Indirect elections were held across France to choose deputies to the National Convention under (near-)universal male suffrage, producing an assembly that would decide the monarchy’s fate and draft a new constitution.
Over several days, revolutionary crowds killed large numbers of prisoners in Paris amid panic over counterrevolution and foreign invasion—an episode that shaped Convention politics and intensified factional conflict.
The National Convention convened for the first time, replacing the Legislative Assembly and quickly becoming the central authority for decisions about the monarchy and the war.
The Convention formally abolished the monarchy, ending the legal framework of kingship and clearing the way for a republic and the prosecution of the deposed king.
The Convention took steps to establish the Republic, marking a constitutional break with the Ancien Régime and setting the political context for trying Louis XVI as a citizen.
Secret papers discovered at the Tuileries (the armoire de fer) were revealed to authorities in November 1792; the documents fueled accusations of counterrevolutionary plotting and helped drive momentum toward bringing Louis XVI to trial.
The Convention decided that Louis XVI (now "Louis Capet") would be judged by the Convention itself, a decisive move toward regicide politics and away from constitutional monarchy concepts such as royal inviolability.
Louis XVI appeared before the Convention for interrogation, symbolically placing the former monarch under the authority of the nation’s representatives and advancing proceedings toward a verdict.
Defense counsel Raymond de Sèze presented Louis XVI’s formal defense to the Convention, one of the final major courtroom moments before the deputies moved to judgment and sentencing votes.
After roll-call voting, the Convention found Louis XVI guilty of conspiracy and attacks on public safety, setting the stage for divisive votes over punishment and procedure.
The Convention voted against submitting the king’s fate to a national referendum (appel au peuple), ensuring that the deputies’ sentence would be final and sharpening Girondin–Montagnard tensions.
In a close roll-call vote, the Convention opted for execution rather than imprisonment, exile, or a conditional sentence—effectively deciding on regicide.
A further vote rejected delaying the execution, confirming that the sentence would be carried out promptly and limiting opportunities for last-minute political compromise.
Louis XVI was executed in Paris, an unprecedented act against a reigning Bourbon monarch that escalated the Revolution’s internal and international stakes and helped radicalize subsequent politics.
National Convention, the Trial and Execution of Louis XVI (Sept 1792–Jan 1793)
