<P> Despite its post-revolutionary mythology, the march was not a spontaneous event . Numerous calls for a mass demonstration at Versailles had already been made; the Marquis of Saint - Huruge, one of the popular orators of the Palais - Royal, had called for just such a march in August to evict the obstructionist deputies who, he claimed, were protecting the King's veto power . Although his efforts were foiled, revolutionaries continued to hold onto the idea of a march on Versailles to compel the King to accept the Assembly's laws . Speakers at the Palais - Royal mentioned it regularly throughout the next month, creating enduring suspicions of the proprietor, Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans . The idea of a march on Versailles was widespread, and was even discussed in the pages of the Mercure de France (5 September 1789). A menacing unrest was in the air, and many nobles and foreigners fled the oppressive atmosphere . </P> <P> Following the mutiny of the French Guards a few hours before the storming of the Bastille, the only troops immediately available for the security of the palace at Versailles were the aristocratic Garde du Corps (Body Guard) and the Cent - Suisses (Hundred Swiss). Both were primarily ceremonial units and lacked the numbers and training to provide effective protection for the royal family and the government . Accordingly, the Flanders Regiment (a regular infantry regiment of the Royal Army) was ordered to Versailles in late September 1789 by the king's minister of war, the Comte de Saint - Priest, as a precautionary measure . On 1 October, the officers at Versailles held a welcoming banquet for the officers of the new troops, a customary practice when a unit changed its garrison . The royal family briefly attended the affair, walking amongst the tables set up in the opera house of the palace . Outside, in the cour de marbre (central courtyard), the soldiers' toasts and oaths of fealty to the king grew more demonstrative as the night wore on . </P> <P> The lavish banquet was certain to be an affront to those suffering in a time of severe austerity, but it was reported in the L'Ami du peuple and other firebrand newspapers as nothing short of a gluttonous orgy . Worst of all, the papers all dwelt scornfully on the reputed desecration of the tricolor cockade; drunken officers were said to have stamped upon this symbol of the nation and professed their allegiance solely to the white cockade of the House of Bourbon . This embellished tale of the royal banquet became the source of intense public outrage . </P> <P> On the morning of 5 October, a young woman struck a marching drum at the edge of a group of market - women who were infuriated by the chronic shortage and high price of bread . From their starting point in the markets of the eastern section of Paris then known as the Faubourg Saint - Antoine, the angry women forced a nearby church to toll its bells . Their numbers continued to grow and with restless energy the group began to march . More women from other nearby marketplaces joined in, many bearing kitchen blades and other makeshift weapons, as the tocsins rang from church towers throughout several districts . Driven by a variety of agitators, the mob converged on the Hôtel de Ville (the City Hall of Paris) where they demanded not only bread, but arms . As more and more women--and men--arrived, the crowd outside the city hall reached between six and seven thousand, and perhaps as many as ten thousand . </P>

What were the causes and effects of the women's march on versailles in october 1789