What event began on September 2, 1792, killing over 1,000 prisoners in Paris?

The event that began in Paris on 2 September 1792 and killed more than 1,000 prisoners was the September Massacres. The killings continued until about 6 September during one of the French Revolution’s most violent moments.

The massacres occurred amid intense fear that imprisoned royalists, refractory priests, and common criminals would be freed or join an invading enemy. Prussian forces had advanced toward France, and the fall of Verdun on 2 September heightened panic in Paris. Crowds and armed volunteers entered several prisons, conducted improvised tribunals, and killed many prisoners without lawful process.

Victims included political detainees, non-juring Catholic priests, Swiss Guards, women, children, and ordinary criminals. Estimates vary, but roughly 1,100 to 1,600 people were killed; historians emphasize that the exact total remains uncertain. The killings took place primarily at prisons including the Abbey, La Force, and the Conciergerie. The September Massacres intensified the divide between revolutionary factions and damaged the Revolution’s reputation abroad. They were not the same as the Champ de Mars Massacre of 1791, which involved the killing of petitioners by National Guards.