In any case, the phrase had a certain prophetic quality, if we interpret it post eventum as alluding to the breaking out of the French Revolution (1789-1799), which took place fifteen years after the king’s death and which cost the life of his grandson and successor, Louis XVI.Īs a first approach to the saying, note that one is dealing with a nominal phrase, that is, without an explicit verb. The phrase “Après moi, le déluge” (“After me, the deluge') is attributed to the King of France Louis XV (1710-1774):Īccording to another interpretation, the phrase may have been coined not by the king himself, but by his most famous lover, Madame de Pompadour (1721-1764):
