{"id":1102,"date":"2010-07-15T22:59:14","date_gmt":"2010-07-15T22:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=1102"},"modified":"2017-10-18T14:45:39","modified_gmt":"2017-10-18T12:45:39","slug":"le-14-juillet-and-les-3-suisses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/le-14-juillet-and-les-3-suisses\/","title":{"rendered":"Le 14 Juillet and “Les 3 SUiSSES”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Demandez\u00a0\u00e0 n’importe qui au hasard<\/em><\/strong> (ask anyone randomly): “C’est quoi le 14 Juillet<\/strong><\/em> (what is the 14 of July)?”, and you’re likely to hear the answer “C’est la f\u00eate nationale!<\/strong><\/em>” (It’s the national celebration!) Mais encore? <\/em><\/strong>(What else?) “It’s to celebrate\u00a0a singular event in\u00a0l’histoire de France<\/em><\/strong>:\u00a0la prise de la Bastille<\/em><\/strong>(the storming of the Bastille.)”
\nAnd for you, personally,\u00a0what does\u00a0the 14 juillet<\/em><\/strong> mean,\u00a0and what does it stand for you?
\nLa f\u00eate et la musique dans les rues de France?<\/em><\/strong>
\nLe d\u00e9fil\u00e9 du quatorze juillet?<\/strong>
\n<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1tp-_kkB4Fg&feature=fvst<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The question we ought to ask is: What happened exactement <\/em><\/strong>in that particular day of July 14th, 1789<\/strong>?
\nAnd why should it matter to us, today, more than two centuries ago?<\/p>\n

Furthermore, does the importance of this day solely matter to the French and their own history?<\/p>\n

To help us bring an answer to these questions, and to put matters into\u00a0their accurate\u00a0perspective historique<\/em><\/strong>, we will\u00a0turn to an eyewitness<\/span><\/strong> of the storming of the Bastille,\u00a0a brilliant, towering figure of French literature, Chateaubriand .<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Concerning\u00a0the events that took place on the\u00a014th of July, Chateaubriand identifies one\u00a0-quote-\u00a0“lying and cynical revealer of the corruption of the upper classes“<\/em><\/strong>,\u00a0whom he\u00a0holds\u00a0responsible for the horrendous massacres he witnessed that day.<\/p>\n

But before we go further, and again,\u00a0for the sake of clear perspective,\u00a0it is important to remember that the French Revolution<\/strong> came in the aftermath of another major revolution outre-atlantique <\/em><\/strong>(on the other side of the Atlantic), namely la R\u00e9volution am\u00e9ricaine<\/strong><\/em>, when the French,\u00a0through another figure marquante <\/em><\/strong>of French literature, Beaumarchais<\/strong>, as well as the Marquis de<\/strong> Lafayette [picture below], <\/strong>entre autres <\/em>(among others),delivered a crucial and thoroughly decisive\u00a0assistance to\u00a0the American troops\u00a0in their war against la Grande Bretagne<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

The R\u00e9volution am\u00e9ricaine <\/em><\/strong>a donn\u00e9<\/em> naissance <\/em>(gave birth)\u00a0to les \u00c9tats<\/em>-Unis<\/strong><\/em>. With the drafting of its remarkable\u00a0Constitution of the United States<\/strong><\/a>,it\u00a0was to yield\u00a0une profonde influence <\/em><\/strong>on the French minds and hearts, inciting a group of French friends of Benjamin Franklin<\/a><\/strong>, and chief\u00a0amongst them was the returning\u00a0Lafayette <\/strong>(who named one of his sons George Washington),\u00a0to follow the footsteps of les P\u00e8res fondateurs<\/em> des \u00c9tats-Unis<\/strong> <\/em>(the Founding Fathers of the United States.) Their set objective was to create their own constitutional version:\u00a0une Constitution fran\u00e7aise<\/em><\/strong><\/em>, that would\u00a0mirror the same\u00a0principles upheld by the\u00a0American Constitution,\u00a0sans effusion de sang <\/em><\/strong>(with no bloodshed.)<\/p>\n

Unfortunately -and this is a very important point to keep in mind-\u00a0the leadership of la Grande Bretagne<\/strong><\/em>, who suffered the recent\u00a0loss of its North American colonies at the hands of Washington <\/strong>and Lafayette<\/strong>, was understandably not too thrilled\u00a0at the prospect of\u00a0seeing\u00a0le mod\u00e8le am\u00e9ricain<\/strong> <\/em>emulated anywhere else, which undoubtedly would have threatened the vast hegemony of its global\u00a0colonial Empire, “sur lequel le Soleil ne se couche\u00a0jamais<\/strong>” <\/em>(“on which the sun never sets.<\/strong>“)<\/p>\n

The threat of anti-colonial republican proliferation\u00a0reaching\u00a0France <\/strong>was even more alarming, a country perceived by the highest circles of the British establishment as lying in “their own backyard”, only a few miles across the English Channel<\/strong>, with which their Empire maintained an age-old\u00a0rivalit\u00e9 <\/em><\/strong>(rivalry)in\u00a0the economic and geopolitical spheres.<\/p>\n

One can therefore picture, *dans les grandes lignes* <\/em><\/strong>(in the broad lines), without a risk of\u00a0oversimplification,\u00a0the two following groupes d’acteurs d\u00e9terminants <\/em><\/strong>(the two determining groups of actors) who stood at the forefront of la\u00a0R\u00e9volution fran\u00e7aise<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n

1- <\/strong>Le groupe du mod\u00e8le am\u00e9ricain<\/strong><\/em>:<\/strong> Centered around the veteran hero\u00a0of the American Revolution\u00a0La Fayette<\/span><\/strong>, as well as other personal friends of the “most French” of all the\u00a0Founding Fathers,\u00a0Benjamin Franklin<\/strong>, such as the renown scientist Lavoisier [picture below]<\/strong>, a pioneering figure of modern chemistry, who is also known for his maxim “<\/em>Rien ne se perd, rien ne se cr\u00e9e, tout se transforme<\/em><\/strong>” (“<\/em>nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed”), a maxim later to be known as the “law of the conservation of mass.”<\/p>\n

\n

2-\u00a0Le groupe anti<\/strong><\/em>–<\/strong>mod\u00e8le<\/strong><\/em>am\u00e9ricain <\/strong><\/em>(or pro-britannique<\/em><\/strong>): The leader incontest\u00e9<\/em> of this group was none other than the dear cousin of the King Louis XVI<\/strong>, the Duc d’Orl\u00e9ans<\/span> [picture below]<\/strong>, who never concealed his feverish\u00a0anglomanie<\/em><\/strong>, especiallyafter\u00a0sojourning in England for a while, where he is known to have\u00a0fallen\u00a0under the through control of the British Minister, Nathaniel Parker-Forth<\/strong><\/a> (Parker-Forth, in a\u00a0co\u00efncidence amusante<\/em><\/strong>, <\/em>is the great-great-great-grand father<\/a> of News Corporation-<\/strong>owner Rupert Murdoch, <\/strong>of which Fox News <\/strong>is a subsidiary.) Not surprisingly,\u00a0the Duke\u00a0nurtured obvious\u00a0ambitions to replace his cousin,\u00a0the French King, by any means if necessary,\u00a0and\u00a0pour cette raison <\/em><\/strong>(for this reason),\u00a0he specifically devoted his Palais-Royal <\/strong>in Paris to\u00a0further his\u00a0schemes, turning it into a “jacobin<\/strong><\/em>” nest of intrigues,\u00a0and\u00a0allying himself with\u00a0three Swiss <\/strong>figures, whom we shall call here “les 3 SUiSSES<\/span>” <\/strong>(“The 3 Swiss.”)<\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Those “3 SUiSSES” <\/strong>are almost forgotten today, despite the fact that they played a key role in the\u00a0dramatic shift of the\u00a0French Revolution,<\/strong> from a movement initiated by the pro-American constitution\u00a0model, modeled on a Platonic conception of la r\u00e9publique <\/strong><\/em>(the Republic), to an unfortunate,\u00a0bloodthirsty campaign, which eventually led to\u00a0what historians dubbed la Grande\u00a0Terreur<\/strong><\/em>, often\u00a0resulting in the\u00a0beheading\u00a0of its very own instigators\u00a0through la<\/em> guillotine<\/em><\/strong> —Not sparing even one of its main “engineers”, the Duke d’Orl\u00e9ans himself.<\/p>\n

The “3 SUiSSES<\/strong>” in question are, namely:\u00a0Necker<\/span> <\/strong>(father of the famous Madame de Sta\u00ebl<\/strong>), Marat<\/span><\/strong>, and le Baron de Besenval<\/span><\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

At the early stages of the French Revolution, and in spite of the flood of vehement attacks launched by the Swiss\u00a0journalist\u00a0Marat<\/strong>,\u00a0the Lafayette group <\/strong>seemed to\u00a0gain the upper hand over the Duc d’Orl\u00e9ans <\/strong>and his Swiss partners in crime, achieving a\u00a0major victory only a few weeks before the\u00a0storming of the Bastille took place, which occurred with the establishment of the first Assembl\u00e9e Nationale <\/strong><\/em>(National Assembly), as a direct\u00a0result of what ought to be seen as truly glorious\u00a0historical event, namely of the\u00a0“Serment du jeu de paume.<\/span><\/strong><\/em>“<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Serment du jeu de paume.<\/strong><\/em>“<\/strong>(known in\u00a0English as the “Tennis Court Oath<\/strong>“) [picture below]<\/strong>,\u00a0held le 20 Juin 1789<\/span><\/em><\/strong> (June 20th, 1789),\u00a0with Lafayette <\/strong>namedas its Vice-Pr\u00e9sident<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Losing political momentum, and with le Roi <\/em><\/strong>(the King) Louis XVI<\/strong> dismissing Necker<\/strong>, the “economic hitman” of the three Swiss stooges,\u00a0*<\/strong>three days* before le 14 juillet,<\/em> from his post of contr\u00f4leur g\u00e9n\u00e9ral des finances<\/em><\/strong>, and le Duc d’Orl\u00e9ans<\/strong><\/em>tactically joining the new Assembl\u00e9e Nationale<\/em><\/strong>, entered in action the Baron de Besenval<\/strong>. The Swiss Baron was\u00a0in charge of the Gardes<\/em><\/strong>Suisses<\/em><\/strong>, who function was to ensure the safety of la population parisienne<\/em><\/strong>. Instead, he organized the storming of the Bastille, and ordered the killing of several innocent people in the most random fashion,\u00a0with the clear intent of stirring up enough social unrest\u00a0so as to force le Roi<\/em> <\/strong>(the King) to recall Necker. That, unfortunately, happened, seulement trois jours plus tard <\/em><\/strong>(only\u00a0three days later.)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/a>
\nTo come back to Chateaubriand<\/strong>, the great French writer\u00a0used very little flattering words\u00a0to describe the sinister Baron. In his “M\u00e9moires d’Outre-Tombe”<\/strong><\/em> (page 276)<\/a>, as a powerless spectator\u00a0who witnessed “live” the storming of the Bastille, he portrays the Swiss Baron as follows:<\/p>\n

“Le baron de Besenval, <\/strong><\/em>
\nr\u00e9v\u00e9lateur menteur et cynique des corruptions de la haute soci\u00e9t\u00e9,<\/em>
\nmouche du coche des pu\u00e9rilit\u00e9s de la vieille monarchie expirante, ce<\/em>
\nlourd baron compromis dans l’affaire de la Bastille, sauv\u00e9 par M.<\/em>
\nNecker et par Mirabeau, uniquement parce qu’il \u00e9tait Suisse: quelle<\/em>
\nmis\u00e8re! Qu’avaient \u00e0 faire de pareils hommes avec de pareils<\/em>
\n\u00e9v\u00e9nements? Quand la R\u00e9volution eut grandi, elle abandonna avec d\u00e9dain<\/em>
\nles frivoles apostats du tr\u00f4ne: elle avait eu besoin de leurs vices,<\/em>
\nelle eut besoin de leurs t\u00eates: elle ne m\u00e9prisait aucun sang.<\/em><\/em><\/strong>”<\/p>\n

Translated by A. T. De Mattos<\/a> in English as:<\/p>\n

“The Baron de Besenval, the lying and cynical revealer<\/strong><\/em>
\nof the corruption of the upper classes, the fly on the wheel<\/em>
\nof the puerilities of the expiring old monarchy; that ponderous<\/em>
\nbaron, compromised in the affair of the Bastille, and saved by <\/em>
\nM. Necker and Mirabeau only because he was a Swiss: the disgrace of it!<\/em>
\nWhat had such men to do with such events? <\/em>
\nWhen the Revolution had attained its full height, it scornfully <\/em>
\nabandoned these frivolous apostates from the throne: <\/em>
\nit had needed their vices, it now needed their heads; <\/em>
\nit disdained no blood.<\/em><\/em><\/strong>”<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

En guise de conclusion <\/em><\/strong>(as a conclusion), the 14th of July essentially marked a tragic coup d’\u00e9tat <\/em><\/strong>in favor of the Duc d’Orl\u00e9ans<\/strong> and his cohort of the “3 SUiSSES<\/strong>“, and by extension, in favor of the colonial empire of\u00a0la Grande Bretagne<\/em><\/strong>,<\/em> which\u00a0was actively prescribing their marche\u00a0\u00e0 suivre <\/em><\/strong>(procedure),\u00a0thus deviating the French Revolution off the course of its truly Republican initiators, Lafayette<\/strong> and the pro-American constitution modal forces, towards the radical trajectoire jacobine<\/em><\/strong>, in the midst of which the French Duke ended up\u00a0losing -quite\u00a0litt\u00e9ralement<\/em><\/strong>–\u00a0his head. The jacobin <\/strong><\/em>hijacking of the French Revolution in turn\u00a0gave rise to the horrors of\u00a0la Grande Terreur<\/strong><\/em>, and paved the way\u00a0for\u00a0the transformation of\u00a0France into un empire colonial <\/em><\/strong>(a colonial empire), at the image of Great Britain, from the\u00a0Napol\u00e9on Bonaparte<\/strong> era, well into the 20th century.<\/p>\n

The French today should therefore be proud of the Lafayette’s<\/strong> 20 juin 1789<\/strong><\/em><\/span>, when their first\u00a0Assembl\u00e9e Nationale<\/em><\/strong> saw the light, and\u00a0not the tragic date which occurred three weeks later, which marked le\u00a0triomphe temporaire<\/strong><\/em> of the overly\u00a0ambitieux<\/em> Duc d’Orl\u00e9ans<\/em><\/strong> and his “3 SUiSSES<\/strong>” stooges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Demandez\u00a0\u00e0 n’importe qui au hasard (ask anyone randomly): “C’est quoi le 14 Juillet (what is the 14 of July)?”, and you’re likely to hear the answer “C’est la f\u00eate nationale!” (It’s the national celebration!) Mais encore? (What else?) “It’s to celebrate\u00a0a singular event in\u00a0l’histoire de France:\u00a0la prise de la Bastille(the storming of the Bastille.)” And…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":23687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,13],"tags":[10090,10091,10092,10111,10112,10119,10118,10101,10104,9118,10103,10096,10108,10102,10093,10106,10123,10100,10114,10115,10107,10122,10117,10099,10097,10124,10109,10116,10113,10105,10094,10098,9642,10110,10120,10095,10121],"class_list":["post-1102","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-vocabulary","tag-14-juillet","tag-14-juillet-1789","tag-20-juin-1789","tag-3-suisses","tag-3suisses","tag-assemblee-nationale","tag-baron-de-besenval","tag-beaumarchais","tag-benjamin-franklin","tag-chateaubriand","tag-constitution-of-the-united-states","tag-defile-du-14-juillet","tag-duc-dorleans","tag-etats-unis","tag-fete-nationale","tag-founding-fathers","tag-gardes-suisses","tag-grande-bretagne","tag-jacobins","tag-la-grande-terreur","tag-lavoisier","tag-louis-xvi","tag-marat","tag-marquis-de-la-fayette","tag-memoires-doutretombe","tag-napoleon-bonaparte","tag-nathaniel-parker-forth","tag-necker","tag-palais-royal","tag-peres-fondateurs","tag-prise-de-la-bastille","tag-revolution-americaine","tag-revolution-francaise","tag-rupert-murdoch","tag-serment-du-jeu-de-paume","tag-storming-of-the-bastille","tag-tennis-court-oath"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1102"}],"version-history":[{"count":52,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28102,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1102\/revisions\/28102"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}