National Guard (France)

The French National Guard was a citizen militia that served as a military and public-order force, with changing organization and political loyalties across successive French regimes.

French Revolution: A period of political upheaval in France from 1789 to 1799 that ended the monarchy and reshaped European politics. The Guard emerged in 1789 as revolutionary authorities sought an armed force loyal to the new order.
National Guard of Paris: The Paris-based formation of France's National Guard, central to revolutionary politics and urban security. Paris's units were the Guard's most politically influential and visible component.
French Revolution of 1848: The uprising that overthrew France's July Monarchy and established the Second Republic in February 1848. The Guard's defections helped undermine the monarchy during the February uprising.
Paris Commune of 1871: The revolutionary government established in Paris after France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. Its defeat led to the historical National Guard's final dissolution.
Storming of the Bastille: The capture of the Bastille fortress-prison by Parisians on 14 July 1789. The event brought the Paris militia, soon organized as the National Guard, into public view.
National Guard (France, 1789–1871): The French citizen militia from its revolutionary creation through its dissolution after the Paris Commune. This period-specific institution shows how organization and duties shifted across regimes.
Paris Commune: A revolutionary municipal government that ruled Paris from March to May 1871. The Paris National Guard became the Commune's principal armed force.
July Monarchy: The constitutional monarchy of Louis-Philippe that governed France from 1830 to 1848. The regime relied on the Guard but could not prevent its pivotal defection in 1848.
Marquis de Lafayette: A French aristocrat and military officer who commanded the Paris National Guard during the early Revolution. Lafayette became the first commander and shaped the Guard's early identity.
National Guard (France, 2016): A French reserve force re-established in 2016 by combining military and police reserves. The modern force shares the name but is not the historical citizen militia.

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