I also do not think they deserved to be executed although I will not deny that they were part of the problem.
I've read varied sources on Marie Antoinette and it appears that she was frivolous from 1770 until 1787 -- 17 years! For example, the Prussian ambassador (Baron Goltz ???, I think) wrote in 1787 to Berlin that "the Queen had quit her frivolous Private Society and now attends to state matters but as she doesn't have a systematic mind, she goes from caprice to caprice..." She definitely knew she was unpopular before this (at least 1782 onwards but pamphlets started in the 1770s so even much earlier than that), but instead of perhaps contemplating why she was so hated by the people and trying to conciliate, she did not do anything at all until the disastrous Diamond Necklace Affair when it was too late. She also made the huge mistake of alienating both the nobility and the masses so she had no support from either. Aside from that, she interfered in court appointments/promotions, making sure that people who were her favorites (but inept) got lucrative posts/titles so the people blamed her for France's mounting problems. I can see the connection there from the viewpoint of the people, even if France's problems started way back. If things were already problematic, why add to the problems by appointing people who were inept, etc.? Not to mention such posts/titles, some of which were new, cost quite a sum when they should be economizing..-- she even insisted on the purchase of the Chateau Saint-Cloud in the midst of a looming financial crisis. I am sorry, I like her a lot (and I don't think she or her husband deserved to be executed) but I cannot also excuse some of her choices. Maria Theresa and Joseph both warned her on her extravagance and court appointments. Count Mercy also said that such interference by MA on court appointments was no good and she herself recognized that what she was doing was no good but she would rather please her friends..... While Louis XVI and MA were not responsible for all of France's problems, the people were looking for them to solve or at least manage the state problems, not make things worse by wastefulness and ineptitude among other disorders. Both certainly did through their choices.
The berlin used in the family's escape was very conspicuous and cumbersome. That alone tells a lot about how Louis XVI and MA were out of touch from reality and IMHO, very poor judgment on their part. Louis XVI's brother Comte de Provence and his spouse had the good sense to escape in a common carriage and a single attendant each. I do not like this couple at all but in that instance, they exhibited good judgment.
Yes, I am familiar with him. I have read excerpts of his memoirs. Really heartbreaking.....
