Synopsis
"The King must die so that country can live"
Robespierre
July 14, 1789, the storming of the Bastille prison -- a simple, symbolic, destructive act by desperate Parisians, set off five years of events that would change the course of history for France and the world. Under the guidance of a philosophical madman, Maximilien Robespierre, and his cabal of idealistic misfits, Paris devolved into a maelstrom of orchestrated chaos. The social order, politic structure, economics, religion and gender roles would turn on their heads during the bloody experiment that took the lives of more than 40,000 people.
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The story is too grand, too twisted and too fascinating to be told in one sitting. It must be developed over the course of months in order to delve deep enough into the stories of the major players -- some who survive, most of whom will perish under the cold, sharp blade of Madame Guillotine as the Revolution consumes its own children.
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"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" focuses on the lives of a select group of characters who represent different elements of French society: the monarchy, intellectual revolutionaries, radicals, and the masses.
The Story
“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” is a limited series focusing on events and people in during the French Revolution. It begins with the lead up to the fall of the Bastille prison, the traditional starting point of the Revolution, and continues through the assassination of France’s King and Queen, the Reign of Terror and ultimately the rise of Napoleon.
Each episode of “Liberty” tells the story of 3-5 individuals from various backgrounds -- King Louis XVI and his queen, Robespierre the revolutionary, Pauline Leon, the daughter of a chocolatier and other familiar (and less known) historical figures like artist Jacques-Louis David, Thomas Jefferson, murderess Charolotte Corday, pamphleteer Jean-Paul Marat and Napoleon -- and weaves their stories around historical events.
Although the dialogue is fictional , great attention is devoted to developing a historically accurate portrayal of the Revolution and its lasting influence on the world and history.
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
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THE FIRST YEAR, 1789
STORMING THE BASTILLE:
July 14, 1789, the day the Bastille prison was stormed by hungry commoners, is traditionally accepted as the starting point of the Revolution. On this day, the people of Paris sponteously descended upon the symbolic Bastille prison. After forcing the doors of the Bastille open (there were only seven prisoners held at that time), the mob grabbed stores of ammunition that were housed in the prison and prepared for an onslaught. The first head of the first victim of the Revolution, the Bastille's director de Launay, was mounted on a pike and paraded through Paris. The violence had begun. Days later, the prison was dismantled and its parts were made into jewelry and knickknacks for patriotic French women.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Meanwhile, 12 miles away in Versailles, representatives of the Three Estates (Nobility, Clergy and Commoners) were presenting their grievances to the King at the General Assembly. On the third day of the proceedings, the delegates of the Third Estate, representing 97% of the population, unexpectedly found themselves locked out of the convention. Already vexed because of the vastly unequal privileges granted to the other two estates, the representatives defiantly met at an indoor tennis court nearby. There they proclaimed that they were the true representatives of the French people, the National Assembly. The meeting was dramatically recorded in an unfinished painting by Jacques Louis David.
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MARCH ON VERSAILLES
In the same year, angry “fish ladies” led a procession of raggedly dressed working women and men towards the King’s palace in Versailles believing that the King and Queen were hoarding stocks of grain causing the skyrocketing price of bread. A group of women managed to force their way into the palace and searched murderously for the hated Queen. When they didn’t find her, they instead stabbed her bed in anger and frustration. The King and Queen were saved and carted back to Paris to serve as constitutional monarchs. They would never return to Versailles again.
THE GREAT FEAR
Also in 1789, peasants in rural parts of France suddenly panicked believing that the nobles were going to take their crops. No one is certain what caused this sudden fear, but one source claims it could be a reaction to ergot poisoning caused by consuming rotten wheat baked into bread. Among the symptoms, hallucinations and paranoia. During the “Great Fear” peasants stormed manor houses, burned feudal records and terrorized noble families. After the event, the nobles (the First Estate) ceremoniously agreed to end the collection of feudal dues – ending feudalism in France.
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STAGE TWO
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THE ATTACK ON THE CHURCH
After an exodus of nobles reduced the power of the Second Estate, the Revolutionaries turned against the church. Clergymen were forcedto demonstrate their loyalty to the new government by signing the demeaning Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Monasteries were closed and monks and nuns were now "free" to become contributing members of society. This was only the first step towards the complete abolition of the church under the new, rational government of Robespierre and his cronies.
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FLIGHT TO VARENNES
After the royal family have been living under virtual imprisonment in the Tuileries Palace, Antoinette’s secret lover helps the family escape to Austria. Clumsily costumed in bourgeois clothes and adopting new personas (the King pretends to be a valet, the Queen, a governess), they load their belongings into a modest carriage and leave in the dead of night. Near the border, though, they are caught at a roadside inn by a bar owner who recognized the king’s face from a coin. The family is brought back to Paris — disgraced and tainted for their disloyalty.
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​WAR
The betrayal of the King and Queen sets off a flurry of discussions that result in the decision to create a republic. Outside of France, Europe monarchs are terrified by the progress of the Revolution. After a few veiled threats and misunderstandings, the patriotic French government declares war on Britain and the rest of the continent. In order to prevent Imprisoned noble families and clerics from joining foreigners in a counterrevolution, radical revolutionaries, egged on by journalist Jean-Paul Marat, massacre more than 1000 prisoners.
THE FATE OF KING LOUIS XVI
At the beginning of 1793, the revolutionary French government engages in passionate debates over the fate of the King. Out of 722 votes in the assembly, 361 (including Louis’s own cousin) voted for immediate death. The guillotine execution was carried out soon after the vote. Antoinette and the children remained separated and isolated in their own prison cells uncertain whether the other members of the family were safe or dead.
REIGN OF TERROR
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COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC SAFETY
Nobles, clergy and “counterrevolutionaries” (that is, anyone who criticizes any aspect of the new revolutionary government, even the long lines for bread) are systematically tried and guillotined. An entire village, Vendee, is killed because of their loyalty to the clergy.
DEATH OF MARAT
The death of Marat (so much to say about this event) at the hands of beautiful, virginal Charlotte Corday causes the Revolution to become even more violent and radical.
DEATH TO SUPERSTITION
All religion is condemned as “superstition.” Churches are converted to pig sties, warehouses etc. and a new religion, the Cult of Reason, is declared. Calendars are changed, weeks are now ten days instead of seven (to eliminate the Christian “day of rest”), clocks now have 100 minutes, 10 hours instead of the standard 60 minutes and 12 hours, streets dedicated to saints are renamed to honor heroes of the revolution (including Marat).
THE REVOLUTION BEGINS TO “EAT ITS OWN CHILDREN”
Robespierre, the instigator of the most violent aspects of the later stages of the Revolution (the “Reign of Terror”) claims he has a list of “counterrevolutionaries” that will be put to death the next day. The crowd has finally had enough and Robespierre is thrown in prison. Before his imminent execution, Robespierre tries to commit suicide by jumping out a window (he lands on excrement) and shooting himself (he only shoots through his jaw preventing him from making any last statements before he is guillotined).
A new government, the Directory, is established.
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NAPOLEON
Napoleon is hired to put down a revolt of royalists. He does this by shooting a cannon into the crowd killing many women and children with a “whiff of grapeshot." After a brief journey to Egypt (where his men find the Rosetta Stone) he returns to Paris and, with the help of Abbe Sieyes, overthrows the Directory.