Étienne Marcel

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Étienne Marcel (early 1300s – 31 July 1358) was a leader of the Paris merchants. He defended small workers and craftsmen and spoke for the Third Estate in the big meetings of the Estates General during the Hundred Years’ War.

In 1354 he became provost of the Paris merchants, and in 1355 he helped organize assemblies to control the king’s finances. After King John II was captured in 1356, the Dauphin Charles tried to push through new taxes, but Marcel and his allies resisted. Marcel also helped build a fortified gateway at the east of Paris, the early Bastille.

In 1357 a reform edict was demanded, but King John II forbade it, leading to renewed conflicts. Marcel then supported Charles II of Navarre against the Dauphin. In January 1358 the Estates General met again, and on 22 February Paris’s people, led by Marcel, attacked the palace and killed two noble marshals.

The nobles no longer supported Marcel, and the Dauphin took back control of Paris. After the Jacquerie rebellion, Marcel backed Navarre’s armed groups near the city. On 31 July 1358 he tried to open Paris to Navarre’s rebels, but guards stopped him at the Porte Saint-Antoine, and he was killed. His followers were executed in the days that followed, and the Dauphin re-entered Paris.