Bastille giving colourful accounts of the events in the castle. Stories and pictures about the rescue of the fictional Count de Lorges – supposedly a mistreated prisoner of the Bastille incarcerated by Louis XV – and the similarly imaginary discovery of the skeleton of the "Man in the Iron Mask" in the dungeons, were widely circulated as fact across Paris. In the coming months, over 150 broadside publications used the storming of the Bastille as a theme, while the events formed the basis for a number of theatrical plays. Despite a thorough search, the revolutionaries discovered only seven prisoners in the
Paris in the 18th century royal family and government back to Paris, as virtual prisoners. The new government of France, the National Assembly, began to meet in the "Salle du Manège" of the Tuileries Palace. With both the King and Assembly in Paris, the city became calmer, and bread prices came down. On 21 May 1790, the Charter of the city of Paris was adopted, declaring the city independent of royal authority. The city was divided into twelve municipalities (later known as "arrondissements"), and into forty-eight sections. It was governed by a mayor, sixteen administrators and thirty-two city council members. Bailly was formally elected mayor