(soft music) (suspenseful music)
(gate creaking) (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] A woman swept
up in the turmoil of history. (men speaking in French) - [Narrator] A queen accused and soon to be judged by her people. (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] A mother whose
private thoughts we know, trapped in a situation
that will devour her, as well as reveal her. (woman speaking in French) (crowd yelling) - [Narrator] Less than
four years have elapsed between the storming of the
Bastille and the revolution, tipping over into violence
in the year of fear, 1793, the reign of terror. (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] The last Queen of France, emblem of a grouping soon
to be lost for Republic. (man speaking in French) (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] This is the true chronicle of the last 76 days of Marie-Antoinette. (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] A shadowy
part of the difficult climb to equality.
(gavel thudding) (Charles speaking in French) (woman speaking in French) (both speaking in French) - [Narrator] By the
month of January, 1793, France has been a
republic for four months. (both speaking in French) (both speaking in French) (crowd chanting) - [Narrator] Today, by order of the people's elected representatives, Louis the 16th died guillotined
in the public square. (woman speaking in French) - [Narrator] Marie-Antoinette,
wife of Louis the 16th and their son, the Dauphin Charles are detained in the Tower of the Temple with the other members
of the royal family, the eldest daughter, Marie-Therese, and the king's sister, Elizabeth. (suspenseful music) In 1793, the sacred power of kings is swept away by the revolution. (crowd yelling) Transformed into revolutionary
sections by the sans-culotte, the churches of the Paris Commune are a buzz to a new cult, freedom, and a new belief, equality. (ceramic shattering)
(crowd cheering) What fate do the people reserve
for their fallen sovereign. One man will decide, Robespierre, the man they nicknamed incorruptible, is the new strong man of the revolution. He has just inducted the old powerful Committee
of Public Safety, a product of the elected assembly then called the Convention,
which governs France, but this power is threatened. On the border, the armies of neighboring
monarchies are massing, allied against a revolutionary France, among them Austria,
Marie-Antoinette's homeland. Inland, the Royal Vendee rises up, the republic is in danger, the street is calling
for a victim as atoned. (crowd cheering) In this populous fury, the
extremists see opportunity. At their head Hebert, eminent
member of the Paris Commune. Robespierre's most dangerous rival. (crowd chanting) In this struggle for power, Marie-Antoinette's life
becomes a political issue. (woman man speaking in French) - [Narrator] Six months have
passed since the king's death. Pressured by the street, officials voted to
transfer Marie-Antoinette to the revolutionary tribunal
prison, the Conciergerie. (man speaking in French) (soft tense music) - [Narrator] Family and possessions gone, Marie-Antoinette is now alone, indicted by the special tribunal set up to eliminate
enemies of the republic in this new prison that the inmates call the anti-chamber of death. (woman speaking in French) (women speaking in French) - [Narrator] Fouquier
Tinville, public prosecutor for the revolutionary tribunal. Marie-Antoinette has just
fallen into his grasp. (keys jangling)
(lock clicking) For Fouquier, the queen's
trial would be a consecration. It would bring him glory and power, but Robespierre is wary of ambition. (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] Guarded the,
incorruptible watches his back and surrounds himself with trusted men, (door slamming) like Nicolas, longtime revolutionary whose loyalty borders on devotion. (men speaking in French) - [Narrator] Faced with
this political animal, Fouquier's hands are tied, but the revolution is not over. Robespierre came to
power through extremism by obtaining the arrest
of his rivals, Girondins, a judge too moderate for refusing to vote for the king's death. He is now threatened by those
more extremist than himself. (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] While
Robespierre's revolution aims to elevate citizenship to a virtue, Hebert bets on the baseness of the people and fuels its violence with
an overpowering weapon. His newspaper Pere Duchesne,
populist and filthy. (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] Hebert's
hatred for Marie-Antoinette grew with the visits he made to her in the temple prison as
prosecutor of the Paris Commune. The populist or the incorruptible, while Fouquier doesn't know
who will win that battle, all he can do is keep his
prey under close surveillance. (Marie speaking in French) (men speaking in French) - [Narrator] For a year,
police administrator, Michonis, has been officially in charge of Marie-Antoinette's surveillance. Familiarity has bred appreciation, but he too is subject to
the power of the revolution. (woman speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (both speaking in French) (women speaking in French) - [Narrator] The revolution
imposes its codes, beginning with words. It is forbidden to pronounce
the title of nobility without a pending format
to indicate that such title was in use prior to the revolution, Former account, former queen. (men speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (woman speaking in French) (both speaking in French) - [Narrator] Marie-Antoinette
has not seen her son for almost two months. Charles was taken from her at the temple and entrusted to shoemaker, Simon, a hardline sans-culotte, charged with overseeing
his republican education. (man speaking in French) (both speaking in French) - [Narrator] Admirer of
Hebert and his Pere Duchesne, Simon has found in the
revolution a cause he believes in and in that mission and
unexpected source of revenue for a shoemaker. (child screaming) (woman speaking in French) (both speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (soft tense music) (door creaking)
(door slamming) (men speaking in French) (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] The stranger
appealing to Michonis is loyal to the queen and protected her from an armed crowd at the Tuileries insurrection, Rougeville. (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] This adventurer
would be immortalized in La Chavauelli de
Maze by Alexandre Dumas. (men speaking in French) - [Narrator] Faster, no doubt, than the queen's allies realize. For the four weeks Marie-Antoinette has been
imprisoned in the Conciergerie, she has tried to hide from her jailers, a condition that weakens her daily. Her biographers would
say cancer of the uterus. Making contact with the queen wasn't the trickiest part of the plan, drawn up by the Chevalier de Rougeville. Michonis had the power to do so. (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] But he had to avoid being unmasked at all costs. - [Michonis] Madam... - [Narrator] And nonetheless
managed to pass her a message. (soft tense music) (man speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (tense music) (both speaking in French) (men speaking in French) (women speaking in French) - [Narrator] In the wings, Mary Antoinette's enemies are also busy. (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] Thanks to Hebert's networks, petitions demanding her death
flood in from all over France. (man speaking in French) (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] Fear is gaining ground. Sparked in Vendee, the civil war ignites
other regions which rebel. At the borders, the
conscripts of the revolution, poorly trained and malnourished, are overwhelmed by the
armies of the coalition. Major cities are falling. Each of these defeats sharpens
the desire for revenge against the former Queen of France, who alone embodies all the
enemies of the revolution. (man speaking in French) (both speaking in French) (both singing in French) (man speaking in French) (men speaking in French) (both speaking in French) (all speaking in French) - [Narrator] Three days for an
habituate of court intrigues, that should be enough. (suspenseful music) (knocking on door) (men speaking in French) (women speaking in French) (intense music) (Marie speaking in French) (men speaking in French) (men speaking in French) (both speaking in French) (men speaking in French) (men speaking in French) (soldier yelling) (men speaking in French) (all speaking in French) (guards distantly yelling) (men speaking in French) - [Narrator] Robespierre
is already looking ahead. He is interested in the
list of political opponents to be arrested. History is sometimes a
mixture of intrigue and luck. The same night that the
Committee of Public Safety met in secret to decide
Marie-Antoinette's fate, the Queen's final escape ended in failure. (men speaking in French) (soldier speaking in French) - [Narrator] The accomplices
of the Carnation Plot would be arrested. Rosalie, too insignificant to be a threat, is the only one allowed to
stay at the Conciergerie. Rougeville would escape Fouquier, but he would be shot for treason in another regime of this
France under construction, the Napoleonic Empire. Michonis would be
guillotined in June 1794. Stripped of all that
remains of her privacy, Marie-Antoinette is placed
under heightened surveillance. The only ones who could save her now are members of her distant
family who reign in Austria, if they see any interest. (crowd chanting) (man speaking in French) (crowd cheering) - [Narrator] 2,250
opponents were arrested. (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] The power and resources of the revolutionary
tribunal increased tenfold. (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] A law of suspects is passed. Whoever cannot present a
certificate of good citizenship will be imprisoned. (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] To support the courts and this policy of terror, a Republican Army is created, exclusively composed of sans-culottes, right up to the highest ranks. (man speaking in French) (men speaking in French) (knocking on door) (man speaking in French) (men speaking in French) - [Narrator] Robespierre is wary of the fickleness of (indistinct). A political virtuoso, he will not openly meddle
with the trial of the queen. (all speaking in French) (Charles speaking in French) (all laughing) (man speaking in French) (all singing in French) (glass shattering) (man speaking in French) (Charles speaking in French) (all yelling) (all singing in French) (men speaking in French) (knocking on door) (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] The revolution
devours its own children. Just one year ago, Manuel organized the day of insurrection on August the 10th, 1792, which triggered the fall of the monarchy. Today he's in prison, arrested just after the Girondins for also being too moderate. (men speaking in French) (both speaking in French) (men speaking in French) (both speaking in French) - [Narrator] Hebert has his prey. If Simon speaks the truth, little Charles' testimony
could sway the trial. He decides to make sure
of this personally. (man speaking in French) (both speaking in French) (Charles speaking in French) (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] And Charles signs with his new revolutionary name. (men speaking in French) (men speaking in French) (soft tense music) (lock clanking)
(gate creaking) (all speaking in French) (lock clanking)
(gate creaking) - [Narrator] Postponement request filed, list of jurors vetted,
thanks to Robespierre, who at the last minute imposed a new law. Now selected by the
Committee of Public Safety, jurors are now also comfortably paid and Austria did not choose to
protect its young archduchess, offered 23 years earlier
to seal an alliance. It has more to win in a war
of conquest with the Republic, the trial can begin. (dark suspenseful music) To mark minds, this trial must have all the
appearances of the legality. 15 jurors, but all are close to Fouquier, Robespierre or Hebert, chosen from the sound revolutionaries like the presiding judge, Herman. (man speaking in French) (Marie gasps) (woman speaking in French) (Ganney speaking in French) - [Narrator] Ganney, wig maker, boasts of only voting for death sentences. (Cartia speaking in French) - [Narrator] Cartia,
keeper of a republican bar has his section vote on extreme motions, his two guns placed in front of him. (Tuma speaking in French) - [Narrator] Tuma, the
only provincial juror, tobacco storekeeper, and admirer of Robespierre,
to whom he owes much. (Antonelle speaking in French) - [Narrator] Antonelle, former
noble, former mayor of Arles. The only one to hesitate before
accepting his job as juror. (Handodar speaking in French) - [Narrator] Handodar, Mastero Lutie, tenor of the Jacobin Club. He is Robespierre's man and
spies for him willingly. (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] Just like this carpenter who signs all his letters, Tesha, true republican. (man speaking in French) (suspenseful music) - [Narrator] Louie, violinist
at the Academy of Music, former personal secretary to Fouquier and Robespierre's agent. (D'Boaso speaking in French) - [Narrator] D'Boaso, bronze engraver, another close friend of Robespierre. Baghong.
(man speaking in French) - [Narrator] Herta Ebechtest,
confirmed follower of Hebert, violently atheist. Souberbielle.
(man speaking in French) - [Narrator] Personal
physician to Robespierre and the tribunal. He denounces women who
say they're pregnant to escape the guillotine. (Fievve speaking in French)
- Fievve, trader. (Somber speaking in French)
- Somber, painter of miniatures and
another follower Hebert. Devez, master carpenter, and finally Bena Bailiff,
a baptist and profiteer, who sells the goods he
seizes for his own gain. (soft tense music) They will judge the queen. They are the incarnation
of the sans-culotte, men who were nothing in the age of kings and who, in just four years,
have come out of the shadows. They now have the power
to condemn this woman they would never have
been able to approach, in this other world they have laid out. (man speaking in French) (woman speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French)
(crowd chattering) (man speaking in French) (crowd yelling) (gave thudding) (man speaking in French) (man speaking in French)
(ominous music) (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] Accused of high treason, Marie-Antoinette risks capital punishment. Now, for the parade of
Fouquier's witnesses. (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] 41 of them, all
figures of the revolution and a few of the (speaks
in French) regime too, drag before the court for their swan song. (men speaking in French) (crowd laughing)
(gavel thudding) (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] Although this gouvernet said nothing before the court, an official but rigged
report meant for the public would be published in the
newspaper, Le Moniteur. (crowd yelling out in French) (man speaking in French) (men speaking in French) (crowd laughing)
(gavel thudding) (man speaking in French) (men speaking in French) (crowd yelling) (men speaking in French) (gavel thudding) (men speaking in French) (crowd yelling) - [Narrator] Some months later, the Counte de LaTerror
Deperr would be guillotined at the same time as the other gouvernet, his cousin, LaMarci. (men speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (crowd chattering) (men speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (crowd chattering) (both speaking in French) (crowd member yelling out in French) (both speaking in French) (crowd chattering) (both speaking in French) (crowd yelling out) (man speaking in French)
(gavel thudding) - [Narrator] Absurd
testimonies, lack of evidence, and an out of control audience. The masquerade began with a flourish. A strange enactment of
the clash of two worlds that of the people who aspire to equality against that of privilege. Two irreconcilable worlds. (man speaking in French) (men speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (women speaking in French) (soft tense music) (man speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (man speaking in French) - No. (man speaking in French) - Oui. (man speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (gavel thudding)
(crowd chattering) - [Narrator] Until three
o'clock in the morning, Marie-Antoinette fought. She lied, sometimes to protect
her allies and herself. Compromising letters addressed
to Austria were found a long time after her trial. She did lie to defend
the image of royalty, to defend the memory of the king to whom her life was linked, and the future of her son his heir. (Marie speaking in French) (soft tense music) (all speaking in French) (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] For these gestures, seen as consideration towards royalty, Lieutenant de Busne would
barely escape the guillotine. (soft tense music) (bird softly tweeting) (Marie speaking in French) - Merci, Madam. (speaks in French) (Marie speaking in French) (both speaking in French) (gavel thudding)
(man speaking in French) (man speaking in French) - Oui.
(man speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (man speaking in French)
(gavel thuds) (man speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (men speaking in French) - No. (speaks in French) (man speaking in French)
(gavel thudding) - [Narrator] One month
after his statement, Manuel would be tried,
convicted, and guillotined, executioner become victim. (men speaking in French) (crowd chattering) (men speaking in French) (crowd yelling out) (Marie speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (both speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (soft tense music) - [Narrator] Hebert
has just made a mistake that could help
Robespierre get rid of him. His testimony would turn the people into Marie-Antoinette's favor but if beyond the queen
they now see the woman, they see a woman who is bruised. (man speaking in French)
(gavel thudding) (man speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] At this precise moment, Fouquier is gambling his future. He knows his trial has been inconclusive, his witnesses dubious,
his evidence inconsistent, so he ignores all that preferring to play his only trump, reminding the people of
their hatred for the queen before the trial. (Fouquier speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (Claude speaking in French) - [Narrator] He too knows
his life is on the line. One word too many and he'll
be the next on the list. The only margin for action
Marie-Antoinette's lawyers have is to remind them of the
laws of the Republic. Chauveau-Lagarde will strive to do so for more than two hours. (Claude speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (Claude speaking in French) (men speaking in French) (Tronson speaking in French) - [Narrator] In this theater of passions that was the queen's trial, Tronson Ducoudray, in
spite of the circumstances, also knew his role. A brilliant orator, he will speak for an hour and a half, reminding them that no direct
evidence has been presented. (men speaking in French) (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] The arrest
of Marie-Antoinette's defense lawyers has been
voted by the Convention even before proceedings began. Before returning to their
defense of lost causes, a taste of prison was their reward. (man speaking in French) - [Narrator] On his release, Chauveau-Lagarde will plead unsuccessfully for Elizabeth, the king's sister. Tronson-Ducoudray,
sentenced for a coup d'etat against the directory, will
die, deported five years later. Marie-Antoinette's medallion, addressed to her faithful
first chambermaid, who would be arrested, would never reach its intended recipient. (soft tense music) (Marie speaking in French) (bell ringing) - [Narrator] The jurors' deliberation took less than an hour. (man speaking in French) - Oui. - [Narrator] Deliberations are not secret. - Oui.
- In revolutionary France everyone knows how everyone voted. The men who convict
Marie-Antoinette do not know yet that many of them will soon die. Public opinion is fickle. - Oui.
- In nine months, Nicolas will be guillotined as will Louie, D'Boaso and Bena. (man speaking in French) - Oui.
- 10 months later, Ganney will escape from the cart taking him to the guillotine. Handodar won't be so lucky. Cartia has but nine years to live, sentenced for an attempt
on Bonaparte's life deportation would see him off. (man speaking in French) - Oui.
- Some will find a way to survive. Tuma back in Mayenne will
denounce the abaptiste. Antonelle will grow old in Arles and eventually persecuted
by the royalists. Fallen into oblivion,
Baghong, Fievve, Devez, others will be saved by their skill. Tesha tried and acquitted, will enter Fouche's
service as an informant just like Somber, who will become one of
his official painters, and finally Robespierre's doctor, Souberbielle, the most enduring. He'll survive all the regimes, revolution, directory,
empire, restoration, and die of old age at over 90. (narrator speaking in French) These are the men who judged the queen. (man speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (crowd gasping) (man speaking in French) (gavel thudding) (Marie speaking in French) - [Narrator] This letter, the last of the last Queen of France would be named for posterity, The Testament of Marie-Antoinette. Elizabeth will never read it. It was only found years
later under the restoration. (women speaking in French) - [Narrator] The trial of Marie-Antoinette was but the first in
a long and bloody list of great trials in the Reign of Terror. The following month, 21 gendarme MPs would appear at a hearing where even the appearance of legality was no longer respected. All would be sent to the
guillotine, including Valaze, who, in fact, committed suicide as the verdict was announced. (somber music) (woman speaking in French) (Marie speaking in French) (man speaking in French) (dark intense music) - [Narrator] The journey
on the convict's cart from the Conciergerie
to the Revolution Square now Bastille Concorde, usually took just under an hour. Marie-Antoinette's would
take more than four. The newspapers of the day said the Austrian was made to
drink her death slowly. (intense music)
(crowd chanting) This trial was so pointless that it would be forgotten in weeks, and history books often
omit to mention it. It didn't reunite a people
tied of a revolution that was slow to deliver
liberty, equality and fraternity. It did, however, begin a series of high profile political
trials of the Reign of Terror. It would have allowed Robespierre to weaken his rival Hebert, guillotined five months
later with his partisans. They say he rived in terror
before the guillotine. Robespierre, guillotined
without trial with his followers the following summer, 28th of July, 1794. Victim of the infernal mechanics that he had set up the terror. Weary of violence, gorge
with blood, the revolution, having devoured all of its
children, awakes exhausted. In search of compromise, power is deposited in
the hands of a directory. Government that does not govern
at the mercy of a strongman, Bonaparte would build a former monarchy, turned Republic into an empire. Fouquier would be the last to fall, tried 18 months later, blamed for the tribunal
and for the terror. On the 7th of May, 1795, he claims the scaffold 10
months after Robespierre, 18 months after Marie-Antoinette. One month and one day after
Fouquier, 8th of June, 1795, at the temple barely 10 years old, Charles will die of
illness, exhaustion, sorrow, forgotten tragedy of the
long and violent epic of a people bound for liberty. This trial was an
accumulation of vengeance with virtue set against treason, republic against monarchy, homeland against foreigners, men against women. (gate door slamming)
