In Assassin's Creed Unity, which major historical event forms the game's setting in Paris?

In Assassin's Creed Unity, the French Revolution forms the game's setting in Paris.

The story follows Arno Dorian through Paris during the upheaval that began in 1789. The Revolution transformed France's political system, challenged the monarchy, and produced years of violence, factional conflict, and social change. Unity uses this instability as the backdrop for Arno's personal investigation and his involvement with the Parisian Assassin Brotherhood.

The game includes recognizable people and places associated with the period, including King Louis XVI, Queen Marie Antoinette, Maximilien Robespierre, and the Bastille. Its historical timeline extends through key episodes of the Revolution rather than depicting only one day or battle.

The July Revolution of 1830 and the Paris Commune of 1871 were later French uprisings, so they do not describe Unity's setting. The Napoleonic Wars also occurred later, although Napoleon appears in the wider historical era surrounding the game. Unity was released in 2014 and is set primarily in revolutionary Paris.