The French Revolution's disastrous money experiment - Part 2

Assignat hyperinflation and loss of monetary trust during France's revolutionary chaos helped pave the way for Napoleon's authoritarian rise.

• Assignats proliferate chaotically: By early-mid 1791, roughly 3,000 private issuers (merchants, towns, clubs) created their own small-change notes backed by locked-away assignats, trading at inconsistent discounts.
• Louis XVI executed: Convicted of crimes against France after the failed flight to Varennes (June 1791) and war with Austria, Louis XVI was guillotined January 21, 1793; Marie Antoinette followed in October 1793.

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