July Revolution in France

Charles X had spent his reign undoing the constitutional gains of the Restoration, moving steadily rightward with policies that angered liberals, republicans, and the middle class alike. By 1830, he controlled neither the Chamber of Deputies nor public opinion. On July 25, he issued the Four Ordinances—decrees that dissolved the recently elected chamber, restricted voting rights, muzzled the press, and essentially abolished constitutional government. Paris erupted within 24 hours.

The barricades went up on July 27 across the Left Bank and Marais districts, built from paving stones, furniture, and whatever else could be hauled into the streets. Troops under Marshal Marmont fired on crowds; crowds fired back. The fighting was vicious and disorganized—no clear leadership, no unified demand, just the accumulated fury of years of broken promises. Over three days, estimates put deaths between 500 and 1,000, with far more wounded. The army, stretched thin and demoralized, lost control of the capital.

Charles X blinked first. On July 30, he revoked the ordinances—too late. The king's own advisors had already concluded his position was hopeless. By August 2, Charles had signed the abdication documents and fled toward the coast, eventually reaching England. The Bourbons, returned to power in 1815, were done. The question became: what came next?

The Chamber of Deputies had largely sat out the actual fighting, but they seized the moment to shape the aftermath. They rejected Charles's young grandson in favor of his cousin Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who at least had a track record of constitutional support. Louis-Philippe took the throne as a 'citizen king'—not by divine right, but by parliamentary choice. It was a narrower revolution than republicans wanted and less of a break than radicals demanded, but it reset French politics for the next 18 years.