French Guards Regiment
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The French Guards were an elite infantry regiment of the French Royal Army. They formed a constituent part of the maison militaire du roi de France under the Ancien Régime.
The Gardes Françaises and the British Guards confronted each other at Fontenoy in 1745. Lord Charles Hay, a British officer, reportedly said, "Tell your men to fire". The Count d'Auteroche, officer of the Gardes françaises, replied, "No, we never fire first".
Rebel Gardes Françaises (in blue uniforms at left and centre-right) took part in the storming of the Bastille and the arrest of its governor, the Marquis de Launay, shown above.
Gardes françaises at the battle of Fontenoy
Gardes françaises reenactors
French Revolution
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The French Revolution was a period of political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789, and ended with the coup of 18 Brumaire in November 1799 and the formation of the French Consulate. Many of its ideas are considered fundamental principles of liberal democracy, while its values and institutions remain central to modern French political discourse.
Le Serment du Jeu de paume by Jacques-Louis David (c. 1791), depicting the Tennis Court Oath
The Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789; the iconic event of the Revolution, still commemorated each year as Bastille Day