Vive la revolution!
On the morning of 14 July 1789, the city of Paris was in a state of alarm. The demonstrators had earlier stormed the Hôtel des Invalides to gather arms (29,000 to 32,000 muskets, but without powder or shot), and were mainly seeking to acquire the large quantities of arms and ammunition stored at the Bastille – on the 14th there were over 13,600 kilograms (30,000 lb) of gunpowder stored there.
At this point, the Bastille was nearly empty of prisoners, housing only seven inmates: four forgers, two “lunatics” and one “deviant” aristocrat, the comte de Solages (the Marquis de Sade had been transferred out ten days earlier). The cost of maintaining a medieval fortress and garrison for so limited a purpose had led to a decision being taken to close it, shortly before the disturbances began. It was, however, a symbol of royal tyranny.
It’s interesting to note that one of the first causes of the breakdown in social order in revolutionary France was an economic crisis brought on by the refusal of the nobility to pay taxes.
Here it just costs them their cabinet seats.
Sometimes.
Not quite. It only costs them Cabinet seats…to date.
I’ve been saying for six months that the United States in 2009 is remarkably similar to France in 1788.
And I suspect that guillotine rental will be a growth industry in the next few years.
It will hopefully cost the 52,000 wealthy tax cheats who invested in UBS AG to avoid paying US taxes a lot more than cabinet seats, depending on the outcome of the U.S. Dept. of Justice case against the foreign bank, UBS.
Of course this UBS case of wealthy criminal tax evasion is a mere tip of the iceberg when the multitude of secret, offshore accounts in the Caymans and elsewhere are taken into consideration.
Perhaps revolutionary France is not so alone with their moneyed privileged refusals to pay taxes and their economic crises.
If one has not had the great fortune to read Edmund Burke’s “Reflections on the Revolution in France” you need to take the time, find it and read it. Scribd link here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/8537795/Reflections-on-the-Revolution-in-France-Edmund-Burke-1729-1797
As with most things French, the storming of the Bastille was a triumph of symbol over substance. Oh, the price the European continent has paid for that revolution in the name of the perfectibility of man.
Needless to say, New Orleans knows how to celebrate Bastille Day right. Much partying–both formal and informal. French Consulate gets involved big-time. Like Mardis Gras, everybody should experience the New Orleans 14 July experience at least once
On a more somber note,Mike M, Zane and G-man are all right. It was not for nothing that Robespierre named his deus ex machina “The Committee on Public Safety.” ANYTHING for public safety, Health, and ameolieration of the climate, eh? Remember, it’s all for the ‘CHILRUNS! ……Compliments of the Obamassiah…