7th June 1788: Day of the Tiles breaks out in the French city of Grenoble, serving as an early precursor to the French Revolution

**Scott Allsop** (0:00)
On the 7th of June 1788 the day of the Tiles broke out in the French city of Grenoble, serving as an early precursor to the French Revolution. Welcome to HistoryPod.
By the late 1780s, the French state faced severe financial difficulties caused by war debts, inefficient taxation and other economic pressures. Nevertheless, attempts by the Crown to reform taxation and strengthen royal authority met resistance from regional parliaments, which were judicial bodies with political influence. In May 1788, the royal government issued measures limiting the authority of the parliament and attempted to enforce them through military intervention. On the 7th of June, royal troops entered Grenoble to dissolve the parliament and remove magistrates from the city. Crowds of townspeople gathered in response, including tradesmen, labourers and other sympathetic residents. As soldiers attempted to secure the streets, a 75-year-old man was injured with a bayonet. This further angered the people and protesters climbed onto rooftops from where they threw roof tiles at the troops below.
The unrest escalated throughout the day. Bells were rung to summon additional support and barricades appeared in parts of the city. Although the soldiers eventually restored a degree of order, the government's authority had been publicly challenged. The magistrates even returned temporarily in response to popular pressure, demonstrating the limits of royal control.
The Day of the Tiles showed that opposition to royal reforms could extend beyond elite institutions into the wider population. The following month, the Assembly of Vizier called for the convocation of the Estates General, which took place the following year. Consequently, the Day of the Tiles is sometimes credited as the start of the French Revolution.