And the authority of the commune was sustained by a popularly
enrolled militia, styled the National Guard, which soon numbered 48,000
champions of the new cause.
[Sidenote: Temporary Acquiescence of the King]
The fall of the Bastille was such a clear sign that even Louis XVI did
not fail to perceive its meaning. He instantly withdrew the royal
troops and recalled Necker. He recognized the new government of Paris
and confirmed the appointment of the liberal Lafayette to command the
National Guard. He visited Paris in person, praised what he could not
prevent, and put on a red-white-and-blue cockade--combining the red and
blue of the capital city with the white of the Bourbons--the new
national tricolor of France. Frenchmen still celebrate the fourteenth
of July, the anniversary of the fall of the Bastille, as the
independence day of the French nation.
[Sidenote: Renewed Intrigues of the Royal Family against the Assembly]
For a while it seemed as though reform might now go forward without
further interruption.
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