The French Revolution
The Lion Monument in Lucerne, erected 1820/1 in honour of the Swiss Guard massacred at the Tuileries. It was paid for with contributions not only from Swiss sources, but also from many of the crowned heads of Europe. It is now a popular tourist attraction, but at the time many Swiss did not find it attractive at all: Liberals objected to its reactionary nature, and some even planned to saw off one of its paws.© www.picswiss
The French Revolution and the subsequent Napoleonic wars changed the face of Europe. Napoleon's invasion of Switzerland was a turning point in the country's history.
France and the Swiss Confederation had had a close relationship for nearly three centuries. Throughout this time the Swiss cantons provided mercenaries to serve the French king.
Many of the king's Swiss Guard were massacred at the Tuileries Palace in August 1792 as they tried to prevent the mob from arresting the royal family. The massacre provoked horror and dismay in Switzerland; the guards were subsequently honoured with a statue in Lucerne.
It was not only Swiss troops who were active in France. Paris as a cultural centre had long attracted Swiss of all sorts, many of whom were influenced by revolutionary ideas.
The best known Swiss participant in the revolution was Jean-Paul Marat, originally of Neuchâtel, who had lived in Paris since 1777. He founded the radical newspaper "L'Ami du Peuple" and was a member of the French National Convention which voted to execute the king. He was murdered in his bath in 1793.
"People came and said a crowd had gathered in the square outside the Tuileries... Then news came that the Swiss guard had opened fire on the mob... The women in the house were our messengers...One woman reported that the king's palace was on fire... Then my wife came from the market and said people were dragging the mutilated bodies of the Swiss round the streets. Whenever someone passed with part of the body of a murdered Swiss guard, I heard people shouting: "Hoho, bravo, bravo!"... I do not know what to do. I commend myself to almighty God. I doubt, dear brothers and sisters, that you will ever see this letter. I cannot send it by the post, and when I am dead no-one will be able to bring it to you. Pray to God for us! Farewell, and do not mourn too much."
J.B.Good, Swiss Officer, letter to his brothers and sisters, 3rd September 1792
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- The Geneva-born banker Jacques Necker Oxford Dictionaries