Draft:Louis Michel Rieul Billon

  • Comment: "Background" and "Attack" sections are unsourced. Rambley (talk) 10:49, 4 June 2025 (UTC)


Senlis attack
LocationSenlis, Oise, Kingdom of France
Coordinates49°12′29″N 2°35′15″E / 49.2081°N 2.5875°E / 49.2081; 2.5875
Date13 December 1789; 235 years ago (13 December 1789) (UTC +1)
TargetNational Guard
Attack TypeMass shooting and explosion
WeaponsMusket, pistols and explosives
Deaths26
Injuries41
PerpetratorLouis Michel Rieul Billon
MotivesRevenge

Louis Michel Rieul Billon (7 Semptember 1750 – 13 December 1789) (or Rieul-Michel Billon, known as the watchmaker Billon), was a French watchmaker and member of the Knights of the Arquebuse Company (before its integration into the National Guard in 1790),[1] from which he was reportedly expelled due to usury, born in Senlis, Oise, France on 7 September 1750, and and where he lived in rue de Châtel and died in the same town on 13 December 1789, was a watchmaker who was the perpetrator of the Senlis attack in 1789, where he fired on the National Guard, killing the commander among others, during the parade for the blessing of the flags.[2][3][4][5][6]

Background and context

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The attack happened during the French Revolution, which, at the time, didn't yet cause too much unrest in the town of Senlis. Billon, on those years, was a member of Knights of the Arquebus Company, from which he was expelled because of a financial dispute and accusations of usury after him, which shocked him and were the catalyst for his decision to take revenge against the Company, which was going to be incorparated into the National Guard.[7][8][9]

Attack

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On 13 December 1789 the National Guard, including the Knights of the Arquebuse Company and other Companies, was parading in the city, going from the Town Hall to the Cathedral, passing through rue de Châtel, where Billon lived, around noon. When they passed through rue de Châtel, Billon started to shoot from his own house, causing panic among the crowd and managing to kill the commander of the Company who expelled him from it. After being located, Billon continued to shoot while hiding into his house, despite being injured, which he later blown up after the soldiers were arresting him causing the further death of other people and which also caused his death by lynching by the Hunter's Company. His attack caused the death of 26 people, one of whom died later from injuries, and 41 injuries.[10][11][12][13]

Aftermath and legacy

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Since the attack happened during the French Revolution, it initially failed to attract too much attention in the country, aside from victims receiving some help from the government and some local news.

Yet, despite this, it is still considered by Guillaume Mazeau a symbol of successive political attacks, especially in the 19th century, for the modus operandi, being an ambush and the use of explosives, the consequences of fear and disorientation among the people present, the identity of his victims who were for the major part not involved in the event which caused his attack and the reaction of the political authorities and the help sent by them to the victims.[14]

This mass murder of 26 people, one of whom, as a result of his injuries, was among the 42 wounded, mainly soldiers, was for a long time unequaled as an attack, according to Marc Sageman.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Biographie universelle ancienne et moderne/1re éd., 1811 - Wikisource". fr.wikisource.org (in French). Retrieved 2025-06-04.
  2. ^ www.bmsenlis.com http://web.archive.org/web/20171111151958/http://www.bmsenlis.com/data/pdf/70/70364.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-11-11. Retrieved 2025-06-04. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ^ Flament, Jean-Claude (2011). Billon, l'horloger fou: Senlis, 13 décembre 1789. Grandvilliers: Delattre. ISBN 978-2-36464-007-8.
  4. ^ Fouquier, A. (1858). Causes célèbres de tous les peuples. University of Ottawa. Paris, Lebrun et Cie.
  5. ^ Broisse, J. F. (1835). Recherches historiques sur la ville de Senlis: présentant un tableau chronologique des événemens principaux qui se sont passés dans cette antique cité depuis le 6e siècle jusqu'en 1832 (in French). Desmarets.
  6. ^ Beauvais, Société académique d'archéologie, sciences et arts du département de l'Oise (1881). Mémoires (in French).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ www.bmsenlis.com http://web.archive.org/web/20171111151958/http://www.bmsenlis.com/data/pdf/70/70364.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-11-11. Retrieved 2025-06-04. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ Fouquier, A. (1858). Causes célèbres de tous les peuples. University of Ottawa. Paris, Lebrun et Cie.
  9. ^ "Senlis, son histoire". Senlis (in French). Retrieved 2025-06-04.
  10. ^ Fouquier, A. (1858). Causes célèbres de tous les peuples. University of Ottawa. Paris, Lebrun et Cie.
  11. ^ www.bmsenlis.com http://web.archive.org/web/20171111151958/http://www.bmsenlis.com/data/pdf/70/70364.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-11-11. Retrieved 2025-06-04. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ^ "Senlis, son histoire". Senlis (in French). Retrieved 2025-06-04.
  13. ^ Aschmann, Birgit (2019-09-18). Durchbruch der Moderne?: Neue Perspektiven auf das 19. Jahrhundert (in German). Campus Verlag. ISBN 978-3-593-44192-4.
  14. ^ Mazeau, Guillaume (2012-03-20). "Violence politique et transition démocratique : les attentats sous la Révolution française". La Révolution française (in French) (1). doi:10.4000/lrf.380. ISSN 2105-2557.
  15. ^ "11 septembre - 13 novembre : qu'a-t-on appris sur les terroristes islamistes ? (2ème partie)". France Culture (in French). 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2025-06-04.