Which Paris complex was stormed for muskets before the Bastille on 14 July 1789?

The Paris complex stormed for muskets before the Bastille on 14 July 1789 was the Hôtel des Invalides.

Early that morning, Parisian insurgents targeted the Invalides because its cellars contained a huge military stock: roughly 29,000–32,000 muskets, along with cannons and other weapons. The crowd wanted arms as political tensions intensified after the king’s dismissal of popular finance minister Jacques Necker.

The seizure was largely unopposed, but the attackers obtained firearms without the gunpowder and shot needed to use them effectively. They therefore moved later that day toward the Bastille, where they believed ammunition and gunpowder were stored. The Bastille became the more famous target, though the Invalides raid was an essential first step.

A common mix-up is treating the Bastille as the day’s first arms seizure. It was attacked after the Invalides, and cannons taken there were later brought to the Bastille. The Invalides still stands in Paris and now houses the Musée de l’Armée.