Fireworks display of May 30, 1770 for the wedding of Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette.
The celebrations for the wedding of the future Louis XVI with Marie Antoinette of Austria came to a close in Paris with a fireworks display in the Place Louis XV (today’s Place de la Concorde). A fire broke out in the scaffolding and cannons around the king’s statue which induced panic in the crowd. 132 people died and hundreds more were hurt.
Upon hearing of the catastrophe, Marie Antoinette handed her purse to Lieutenant Sartine for the assistance of the victims and their families.
Her husband, the Dauphin of France and future Louis XVI, also gave Sartine 6,000 French pounds saying: “It is everything I have. Use it to help those in need.”
Jean Chalon, Chère Marie-Antoinette (Paris: Perrin, 1988), 39. (Nobility.org translation.)
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 461
