Editing Paul Barras (section)

==National Convention==
At the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, he advocated the [[Democracy|democratic]] cause, and became one of the administrators of the [[Var (department)|Var]]. In June 1792 he took his seat in the high national court at [[Orléans]]. Later in that year, on the outbreak of the [[French Revolutionary Wars]], Barras became [[commissioner]] to the [[French Revolutionary Army|French Army]], which was facing the forces of [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720-1861)|Sardinia]] in the [[Italian Peninsula]], and entered the [[National Convention]] as a deputy for the Var.

In January 1793, he voted with the majority for the [[execution of Louis XVI]]. However, he was mostly absent from Paris on missions to the regions of the south-east of France. During this period, he made the acquaintance of [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] at the [[Siege of Toulon]] (his later clash with Napoleon made him downplay the latter's abilities as a soldier: he noted in his ''Memoirs'' that the siege had been carried out by 30,000 men against a minor [[Armée des Émigrés|royalist]] defending force, whereas the real number was 12,000; he also sought to minimize the share taken by Bonaparte in the capture of the city).<ref>Canteleu, pp. 35–37.</ref>  When Barras became Director, he gave Napoleon position of general in the battalion of Italians.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Haine|first1=Scott|title=The History of France|year=2000|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=0-313-30328-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyoffrance00hain/page/88 88]|edition=1st|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/historyoffrance00hain/page/88}}</ref>