the french revolution proved to be a disaster for her family. her youngest brother, the comte d'artois, left france in 1789 and was given permission by turin to stay there under the protection of her father-in-law, the king of sardinia. clotilde also harboured the prince de condé, louise de condé, the duke d'enghien, as well as, in march 1791, her aunts "mesdames de france", madame adélaïde and madame victoire. after the departure of her brother the count of artois, her sister-in-law, the countess of artois, sank into a depression and contemplated to become a nun, but was persuaded not to by clothilde, who pointed out her duty to her children. during this period, turin was filled with aristocratic french emigrées, who were greatly disliked by the public in savoy and also caused savoy to be regarded as an enemy by the government in paris, and clothilde was placed in a difficult situation, as her charitable activity among the french emigree community was noted.