Editing French Revolution (section)

== First Republic (1792–1795) ==
=== Proclamation of the First Republic ===
[[File:Execution of Louis XVI.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|[[Execution of Louis XVI]] in the [[Place de la Concorde]], facing the empty pedestal where the statue of his grandfather [[Louis XV]] previously stood]]

In late August, [[1792 French National Convention election|elections were held]] for the [[National Convention]]. Restrictions on the franchise meant the number of votes cast fell to 3.3&nbsp;million, versus 4&nbsp;million in 1791, while intimidation was widespread.{{Sfn|Crook|1996|p=94}} The ''Brissotins'' split between moderate ''[[Girondins]]'' led by Brissot, and radical ''[[Montagnard (French Revolution)|Montagnards]]'', headed by Robespierre, [[Georges Danton]] and [[Jean-Paul Marat]]. While loyalties constantly shifted, voting patterns suggest roughly 160 of the 749 deputies can generally be categorised as ''Girondists'', with another 200 ''Montagnards''. The remainder were part of a centrist faction known as ''La Plaine'', headed by [[Bertrand Barère]], [[Pierre Joseph Cambon]] and [[Lazare Carnot]].{{Sfn|Shusterman|2013|pp=223–269}}

In the [[September Massacres]], between 1,100 and 1,600 prisoners held in Parisian jails were [[extrajudicial killings|summarily executed]], the vast majority being common criminals.{{Sfn|Lewis|2002|p=38}} A response to the capture of [[Longwy]] and [[Battle of Verdun (1792)|Verdun]] by Prussia, the perpetrators were largely National Guard members and ''[[fédérés]]'' on their way to the front. While responsibility is still disputed, even moderates expressed sympathy for the action, which soon spread to the provinces. One suggestion is that the killings stemmed from concern over growing lawlessness, rather than political ideology.{{Sfn|Tackett|2011|pp=54–55}}

On 20 September, the French defeated the Prussians at the [[Battle of Valmy]], in what was the first major victory by the army of France during the [[French Revolutionary Wars|Revolutionary Wars]]. Emboldened by this, on 22 September the Convention replaced the monarchy with the [[French First Republic]] and introduced [[French Republican Calendar|a new calendar]], with 1792 becoming "Year One".{{Sfn|Pas|2008|p=49}} The next few months were taken up with the trial of ''Citoyen Louis Capet'', formerly Louis XVI. While evenly divided on the question of his guilt, members of the convention were increasingly influenced by radicals based within the Jacobin clubs and Paris Commune. The Brunswick Manifesto made it easy to portray Louis as a threat to the Revolution, especially when extracts [[Armoire de fer|from his personal correspondence]] showed him conspiring with Royalist exiles.{{Sfn|Barton|1967|pp=146–160}}

On 17 January 1793, Louis was sentenced to death for "conspiracy against public liberty and general safety". 361 deputies were in favour, 288 against, while another 72 voted to execute him, subject to delaying conditions. The sentence was [[Execution of Louis XVI|carried out on 21 January]] on the ''Place de la Révolution'', now the [[Place de la Concorde]].{{Sfn|Doyle|1990|p=196}} Conservatives across Europe called for the destruction of revolutionary France, and in February the Convention responded by declaring war on [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]] and the [[Dutch Republic]]. Together with Austria and Prussia, these two countries were later joined by [[Enlightenment Spain|Spain]], [[Portuguese Empire|Portugal]], [[Kingdom of Naples|Naples]], and [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany|Tuscany]] in the [[War of the First Coalition]].{{Sfn|Wasson|2009|p=118}}

=== Political crisis and fall of the Girondins ===

The Girondins hoped war would unite the people behind the government and provide an excuse for rising prices and food shortages, but they found themselves the target of popular anger. Many left for the provinces. The first conscription measure or ''[[levée en masse]]'' on 24 February sparked riots in Paris and other regional centres. Already unsettled by changes imposed on the church, in March the traditionally conservative and royalist [[Vendée]] rose in revolt. On 18th, General [[Charles François Dumouriez]] was [[Battle of Neerwinden (1793)|defeated at Neerwinden]] and defected to the Austrians. Uprisings followed in [[Bordeaux]], [[Lyon]], [[Toulon]], [[Marseille]] and [[Caen]]. The Republic seemed on the verge of collapse.{{Sfn|Shusterman|2013|pp=143–173}}

The crisis led to the creation on 6 April 1793 of the [[Committee of Public Safety]], an executive committee accountable to the convention.{{Sfn|Shusterman|2013|pp=271–312}} The Girondins made a fatal political error by indicting Marat before the [[Revolutionary Tribunal]] for allegedly directing the September massacres; he was quickly acquitted, further isolating the Girondins from the ''sans-culottes''. When [[Jacques Hébert]] called for a popular revolt against the "henchmen of Louis Capet" on 24 May, he was arrested by the [[Commission of Twelve]], a Girondin-dominated tribunal set up to expose 'plots'. In response to protests by the Commune, the Commission warned "if by your incessant rebellions something befalls the representatives of the nation, Paris will be obliterated".{{Sfn|Shusterman|2013|pp=143–173}}

[[File:Jacques-Louis David - La Mort de Marat.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|''[[The Death of Marat]]'' by [[Jacques-Louis David]] (1793)]]

Growing discontent allowed the clubs to mobilise against the Girondins. Backed by the Commune and elements of the National Guard, on 31 May they [[Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793|attempted to seize power in a coup]]. Although the coup failed, on 2 June the convention was surrounded by a crowd of up to 80,000, demanding cheap bread, unemployment pay and political reforms, including restriction of the vote to the ''sans-culottes'', and the right to remove deputies at will.{{Sfn|Schama|1989|p=724}} Ten members of the commission and another twenty-nine members of the Girondin faction were arrested, and on 10 June, the Montagnards took over the Committee of Public Safety.{{Sfn|Schama|1989|pp=725–726}}

Meanwhile, a committee led by Robespierre's close ally [[Louis Antoine de Saint-Just]] was tasked with preparing [[French Constitution of 1793|a new constitution]]. Completed in only eight days, it was ratified by the convention on 24 June and contained radical reforms, including [[universal male suffrage]]. However, normal legal processes were suspended following the assassination of Marat on 13 July by the Girondist [[Charlotte Corday]], which the Committee of Public Safety used as an excuse to take control. The 1793 Constitution was suspended indefinitely in October.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2000|p=53}}

Key areas of focus for the new government included creating a new state ideology, economic regulation and winning the war.{{Sfn|Schama|1989|p=756}} They were helped by divisions among their internal opponents; while areas like the Vendée and [[Brittany]] wanted to restore the monarchy, most supported the Republic but opposed the regime in Paris. On 17 August, the Convention voted a second ''levée en masse''; despite initial problems in equipping and supplying such large numbers, by mid-October Republican forces had re-taken Lyon, Marseille and Bordeaux, while defeating Coalition armies at [[Battle of Hondschoote|Hondschoote]] and [[Battle of Wattignies|Wattignies]].{{Sfn|Schama|1989|p=766}} The new class of military leaders included a young colonel named [[Napoleon Bonaparte]], who was appointed commander of artillery at the [[Siege of Toulon (1793)|siege of Toulon]] thanks to his friendship with [[Augustin Robespierre]]. His success in that role resulted in promotion to the [[Army of Italy (France)|Army of Italy]] in April 1794, and the beginning of his rise to military and political power.{{Sfn|McLynn|1997|p=76}}

=== Reign of Terror ===
[[File:Octobre 1793, supplice de 9 émigrés.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|Nine ''[[French emigration (1789–1815)|émigrés]]'' are executed by [[guillotine]], 1793]]
Although intended to bolster revolutionary fervour, the [[Reign of Terror]] rapidly degenerated into the settlement of personal grievances. At the end of July, the Convention set [[General maximum|price controls]] on a wide range of goods, with the death penalty for hoarders. On 9 September, 'revolutionary groups' were established to enforce these controls, while the [[Law of Suspects]] on 17 September approved the arrest of suspected "enemies of freedom". This initiated what has become known as the "Terror". From September 1793 to July 1794, around 300,000 were arrested,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-14 |title=French Revolution {{!}} History, Summary, Timeline, Causes, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/French-Revolution |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=Britannica |language=en |archive-date=15 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150615005533/https://www.britannica.com/event/French-Revolution |url-status=live }}</ref> with some 16,600 people executed on charges of counter-revolutionary activity, while another 40,000 may have been summarily executed, or died awaiting trial.{{Sfn|Gough|1998|p=77}}

Price controls made farmers reluctant to sell their produce in Parisian markets, and by early September the city was suffering acute food shortages. At the same time, the war increased public debt, which the Assembly tried to finance by selling confiscated property. However, few would buy assets that might be repossessed by their former owners, a concern that could only be achieved by military victory. This meant the financial position worsened as threats to the Republic increased, while printing ''[[assignats]]'' to deal with the deficit further increased inflation.{{Sfn|White|1995|p=242}}

On 10 October, the Convention recognised the Committee of Public Safety as the supreme [[National Convention#Revolutionary government|Revolutionary Government]] and suspended the constitution until peace was achieved.{{Sfn|Kennedy|2000|p=53}} In mid-October, Marie Antoinette was convicted of a long list of crimes and guillotined; two weeks later, the Girondist leaders arrested in June were also executed, along with [[Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans|Philippe Égalité]]. The "Terror" was not confined to Paris, with over 2,000 killed in Lyons after its recapture.{{Sfn|Schama|1989|p=784}}

[[File:Georges Danton.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|[[Georges Danton]]; Robespierre's close friend and ''Montagnard'' leader, executed 5 April 1794]]

At [[Second Battle of Cholet|Cholet]] on 17 October, the Republican army won a decisive victory over the [[War in the Vendée|Vendée rebels]], and the survivors escaped into Brittany. A [[Battle of Le Mans (1793)|defeat at Le Mans]] on 23 December ended the rebellion as a major threat, although the insurgency continued until 1796. The extent of the repression that followed has been debated by French historians since the mid-19th century.{{Sfn|Cough|1987|pp=977–988}} Between November 1793 and February 1794, over 4,000 were [[Drownings at Nantes|drowned in the Loire at Nantes]] under the supervision of [[Jean-Baptiste Carrier]]. Historian Reynald Secher claims that as many as 117,000 died between 1793 and 1796. Although those numbers have been challenged, [[François Furet]] concludes it "not only revealed massacre and destruction on an unprecedented scale, but a zeal so violent that it has bestowed as its legacy much of the region's identity."{{Sfn|Furet|Ozouf|1989|p=175}}{{Efn|Other estimates of the death toll range from 170,000{{Sfn|Hussenet|2007|p=148}} to 200,000–250,000{{Sfn|Martin|1987|p=?}}}}

At the height of the Terror, not even its supporters were immune from suspicion, leading to divisions within the ''Montagnard'' faction between radical ''[[Hébertists]]'' and moderates led by Danton.{{Efn|In one exchange, a Hébertist named Vadier threatened to 'gut that fat [[turbot]], Danton', who replied that if he tried, he (Danton) would 'eat his brains and shit in his skull'.{{Sfn|Schama|1989|p=814}}}} Robespierre saw their dispute as de-stabilising the regime, and, as a [[deist]], objected to the [[Dechristianization of France during the French Revolution|anti-religious policies]] advocated by the [[atheist]] Hébert, who was arrested and executed on 24 March with 19 of his colleagues.{{Sfn|Schama|1989|p=816}} To retain the loyalty of the remaining Hébertists, Danton was arrested and executed on 5 April with [[Camille Desmoulins]], after a [[show trial]] that arguably did more damage to Robespierre than any other act in this period.{{Sfn|Schama|1989|p=819}}

The [[Law of 22 Prairial]] (10 June) denied "enemies of the people" the right to defend themselves. Those arrested in the provinces were sent to Paris for judgment; from March to July, executions in Paris increased from 5 to 26 per day.{{Sfn|Schama|1989|p=837}} Many Jacobins ridiculed the festival of the [[Cult of the Supreme Being]] on 8 June, a lavish and expensive ceremony led by Robespierre, who was also accused of circulating claims he was a second Messiah. Relaxation of price controls and rampant inflation caused increasing unrest among the ''sans-culottes'', but the [[Low Countries theatre of the War of the First Coalition|improved military situation]] reduced fears the Republic was in danger. Fearing their own survival depended on Robespierre's removal, on 29 June three members of the Committee of Public Safety openly accused him of being a dictator.{{Sfn|Schama|1989|p=838}} Robespierre responded by refusing to attend Committee meetings, allowing his opponents to build a coalition against him. In a speech made to the convention on 26 July, he claimed certain members were conspiring against the Republic, an almost certain death sentence if confirmed. When he refused to provide names, the session broke up in confusion. That evening he repeated these claims at the Jacobins club, where it was greeted with demands for execution of the 'traitors'. Fearing the consequences if they did not act first, his [[Fall of Maximilien Robespierre|opponents attacked Robespierre]] and his allies in the Convention next day. When Robespierre attempted to speak, his voice failed, one deputy crying "The blood of Danton chokes him!"{{Sfn|Schama|1989|p=844}}

[[File:Execution robespierre, saint just....jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.15|The execution of Robespierre on 28 July 1794 marked the end of the [[Reign of Terror]].]]

After the Convention authorised his arrest, he and his supporters took refuge in the ''Hotel de Ville'', which was defended by elements of the National Guard. Other units loyal to the Convention stormed the building that evening and detained Robespierre, who severely injured himself attempting suicide. He was executed on 28 July with 19 colleagues, including Saint-Just and [[Georges Couthon]], followed by 83 members of the Commune.{{Sfn|Schama|1989|p=845}} The Law of 22 Prairial was repealed, any surviving Girondists reinstated as deputies, and the Jacobin Club was closed and banned.{{Sfn|Soboul|1975|pp=425–428}}

There are various interpretations of the Terror and the violence with which it was conducted. Furet argues that the intense ideological commitment of the revolutionaries and their utopian goals required the extermination of any opposition.{{Sfn|Furet|1989|p=222}} A middle position suggests violence was not inevitable but the product of a series of complex internal events, exacerbated by war.{{Sfn|Hanson|2009|p=?}}

=== Thermidorian reaction ===
{{Main|Thermidorian Reaction}}

The bloodshed did not end with the death of Robespierre; [[southern France]] saw a [[First White Terror|wave of revenge killings]], directed against alleged Jacobins, Republican officials and Protestants. Although the victors of Thermidor asserted control over the Commune by executing their leaders, some of those closely involved in the "Terror" retained their positions. They included [[Paul Barras]], later chief executive of the [[French Directory]], and [[Joseph Fouché]], director of the killings in Lyon who served as [[Minister of Police (France)|Minister of Police]] under the Directory, the Consulate and [[First French Empire|Empire]].{{Sfn|Andress|2006|p=237}} Despite his links to Augustin Robespierre, military success in Italy meant Bonaparte escaped censure.{{Sfn|McLynn|1997|p=82}}

[[File:Paul Barras directeur.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.8|Former Viscount and Montagnard [[Paul Barras]], who took part in the Thermidorian reaction and later headed the [[French Directory]]]]

The December 1794 [[Treaty of La Jaunaye]] ended the [[Chouannerie]] in western France by allowing freedom of worship and the return of non-juring priests.{{Sfn|Andress|2006|p=354}} This was accompanied by military success; in January 1795, French forces helped the [[Patriottentijd|Dutch Patriots]] set up the [[Batavian Republic]], securing their northern border.{{Sfn|Schama|1977|pp=178–192}} The war with Prussia was concluded in favour of France by the [[Peace of Basel]] in April 1795, while Spain made peace shortly thereafter.{{Sfn|Hargreaves-Mawdsley|1968|pp=175–176}}

However, the Republic still faced a crisis at home. Food shortages arising from a poor 1794 harvest were exacerbated in northern France by the need to supply the army in [[Flanders]], while the winter was the worst since 1709.{{Sfn|Lyons|1975|p=15}} By April 1795, people were starving, and the ''assignat'' was worth only 8% of its face value; in desperation, [[Insurrection of 12 Germinal Year III|the Parisian poor rose again]].{{Sfn|Woronoff|1984|p=10}} They were quickly dispersed and the main impact was another round of arrests, while Jacobin prisoners in Lyon were summarily executed.{{Sfn|Woronoff|1984|p=15}}

A committee drafted the [[Constitution of the Year III]], approved by [[Referendum|plebiscite]] on 23 September 1795 and put into place on 27 September.{{Sfn|Doyle|1990|p=320}} Largely designed by [[Pierre Claude François Daunou|Pierre Daunou]] and [[François Antoine de Boissy d'Anglas|Boissy d'Anglas]], it established a [[bicameral legislature]], intended to slow down the legislative process, ending the wild swings of policy under the previous unicameral systems. The [[Council of 500]] was responsible for drafting legislation, which was reviewed and approved by the [[Council of Ancients]], an upper house containing 250 men over the age of 40. Executive power was in the hands of five directors, selected by the Council of Ancients from a list provided by the lower house, with a five-year mandate.{{Sfn|Lyons|1975|pp=18–19}}

Deputies were chosen by indirect election, a total franchise of around 5&nbsp;million voting in primaries for 30,000 electors, or 0.6% of the population. Since they were also subject to stringent property qualification, it guaranteed the return of conservative or moderate deputies. In addition, rather than dissolving the previous legislature as in 1791 and 1792, the so-called 'law of two-thirds' ruled only 150 new deputies would be elected each year. The remaining 600 ''Conventionnels'' kept their seats, a move intended to ensure stability.{{Sfn|Lyons|1975|p=19}}