ˌFrench Revoˈlution, the
the revolution which began in France in 1789 with the ‘Storming of the Bastille’ on 14th July, when the people of Paris attacked and took control of the Bastille prison. Four years later, the French king and queen, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were killed by having their heads cut off by the guillotine. Many other people of high rank were also killed and France became a republic (=a country without a king or queen). During the revolution, the people demanded ‘Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity’, and the events and ideas of the revolution had an important influence on European history.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲