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As the politics of France
evolved in 1790 and 1791, Louis remained somewhat active in the
political scene in Paris. He had agreed to many measures of the
Assembly which he did not agree with, most notably the Civil
Constitution of the Clergy. Louis, who was fiercely loyal to
the Catholic Church, resented signing this measure which deprived
the clergy of their power and property in France. He recognized that he and
his family would not be safe in France for much longer, and decided
to join the other nobles who had emigrated during the first year
of the Revolution. In June of 1791, the royal family left Paris in a coach headed towards Belgium.
Before leaving Paris, Louis had written a letter to his enemies
in the Assembly detailing his complaints about the new constitution
and calling for a counterrevolution in Paris. The King and his family were apprehended in Varennes by the National Guard. They had been alerted to the family's whereabouts when a commoner recognized the King from his picture on an assignat (the French unit of currency at that time). The royal family returned to Paris on June 25th as prisoners of the people they had once controlled.
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