The Uprising of June 20, I/Q2 127 



did not denounce the plot, he would brand upon his forehead the 

 name of calumniator. This brought great applause from the 

 galleries. But the assembly refused Boullenger the floor and 

 Petion continued. 



" Some people do not know what the municipality has done. 

 It is not for me to pronounce eulogies upon its conduct, but I can 

 say that it has performed its duty in a way that merits appro- 

 bation." He then reviewed the movement since his first informa- 

 tion concerning it. He spoke of the municipality having learned 

 on June 16 that a petition was to be presented to the assembly 

 and to the king, and said that the municipal council had refused 

 to authorize the movement because the citizens had asked to pre- 

 sent themselves in arms without specifying that they belonged to 

 the national guards or to a battalion, but that, when circumstances 

 had changed, this same council gave the battalions permission to 

 march. He said that the chiefs of the battalions had presented 

 themselves at the mayoralty and had assured the mayor that the 

 intentions of the citizens were good and that the constituted 

 authorities had at other times permitted citizens to march armed 

 and that they had been well received by the national assembly. 

 Why discriminate against them? Then they [the officers] said 

 that they would not be the ones to prevent the citizens from 

 marching armed. In consequence of this a prudent measure was 

 taken by the municipality. The battalions were authorized to 

 march and the other citizens were allowed to place themselves 

 under the national flag and under the chiefs recognized by law. 

 Thus the citizens marched legally and being under recognized 

 chiefs w^ould do no wrong. 



This measure was communicated to the department, which did 

 not approve of it. Immediately the police and the mayor had 

 taken every precaution and had conformed to the letter which 

 the directory had written to them. But Petion said there had 

 been no need of referring to the directory of the department 

 because the public force could not act without authority from the 

 municipality. He said that municipal officers had been sent to 

 the gathering places in the faubourgs on the morning of June 20 

 to speak to the citizens and that the citizens insisted that they 



323 



