<P> During the public demonstrations that started on 12 July, the multitude displayed busts of Necker and of Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, then marched from the Palais Royal through the theater district before continuing westward along the boulevards . The crowd clashed with the Royal German Cavalry Regiment ("Royal - Allemand") between the Place Vendôme and the Tuileries Palace . From atop the Champs - Élysées, the Prince de Lambesc unleashed a cavalry charge that dispersed the remaining protesters at Place Louis XV--now Place de la Concorde . The Royal commander, Baron de Besenval, fearing the results of a blood bath amongst the poorly armed crowds or defections among his own men, then withdrew the cavalry towards Sèvres . Meanwhile, unrest was growing among the people of Paris who expressed their hostility against state authorities by attacking customs posts blamed for causing increased food and wine prices . The people of Paris started to plunder any place where food, guns and supplies could be hoarded . That night, rumors spread that supplies were being hoarded at Saint - Lazare, a huge property of the clergy, which functioned as convent, hospital, school and even as a jail . An angry mob broke in and plundered the property, seizing 52 wagons of wheat, which were taken to the public market . That same day multitudes of people plundered many other places including weapon arsenals . The Royal troops did nothing to stop the spreading of social chaos in Paris during those days . </P> <P> The regiment of Gardes Françaises (French Guards) formed the permanent garrison of Paris and, with many local ties, was favourably disposed towards the popular cause . This regiment had remained confined to its barracks during the initial stages of the mid-July disturbances . With Paris becoming the scene of a general riot, Charles Eugene, Prince of Lambesc (Marshal of the Camp, Proprietor of the Royal Allemand - Dragoons), not trusting the regiment to obey his order, posted sixty dragoons to station themselves before its dépôt in the Chaussée d'Antin . The officers of the French Guards made ineffectual attempts to rally their men . The rebellious citizenry had now acquired a trained military contingent . As word of this spread, the commanders of the royal forces encamped on the Champ de Mars became doubtful of the dependability of even the foreign regiments . The future "Citizen King", Louis - Philippe, duc d'Orléans, witnessed these events as a young officer and was of the opinion that the soldiers would have obeyed orders if put to the test . He also commented in retrospect that the officers of the French Guards had neglected their responsibilities in the period before the uprising, leaving the regiment too much to the control of its non-commissioned officers . However, the uncertain leadership of Besenval led to a virtual abdication of royal authority in central Paris . On the morning of 13 July the electors of Paris met and agreed to the recruitment of a "bourgeois militia" of 48,000 men from the sixty voting districts of Paris, to restore order . </P> <P> On the morning of 14 July 1789, the city of Paris was in a state of alarm . The partisans of the Third Estate in France, now under the control of the Bourgeois Militia of Paris (soon to become Revolutionary France's National Guard), had earlier stormed the Hôtel des Invalides without meeting significant opposition . Their intention had been to gather the weapons held there (29,000 to 32,000 muskets, but without powder or shot). The commandant at the Invalides had in the previous few days taken the precaution of transferring 250 barrels of gunpowder to the Bastille for safer storage . </P> <P> At this point, the Bastille was nearly empty, housing only seven prisoners: four forgers, two "lunatics" and one "deviant" aristocrat, the Comte de Solages (the Marquis de Sade had been transferred out ten days earlier). </P>

When was the city of paris in a state of alarm