Editing Jean Sylvain Bailly (section)

==Mayor of Paris==
On 15 July 1789, Bailly took office as the mayor of Paris. Two days later he was met by [[Louis XVI]] at the [[Hôtel de Ville, Paris|Hôtel de Ville]] who was there to endorse the Revolution. Bailly presented him with the new symbol of the revolution: the [[cockade of France]].<ref name = "Schama" />{{rp|424}}

In his function as [[Mayor (France)|mayor]], he was attacked by [[Camille Desmoulins]] and [[Jean-Paul Marat]] as too conservative.<ref name = "Schama" />{{rp|499}} Bailly continuously sought to promote the authority of the mayor while limiting the power of the General Assembly of the Commune.

=== Maintaining order ===
Jean Sylvain Bailly sought to be in full control of his administration as the mayor of Paris. He envisioned being in a position where all answered to him, and only his orders were to be followed. Creating a centralized government within Paris was his plan, however Parisians were not keen with this vision.<ref name="Brucker" />{{rp|38}} His views are depicted in the following passage of his ''Mémoires:''

<blockquote>"... in the executive assembly, the mayor who presides over it is a specific officer of the commune. This Assembly possesses the totality of power, but its chief is its agent, its executive authority, who should be charged with the execution of its orders and the maintenance of its regulations. Moreover, since he is at the head of the administration, he understands all of its branches and has all of its strings in his hands. He is in a better position to detect the difficulties and the dangers than the other members who do not have the same information. If the law does not demand it, reason dictates that no important step be taken and no important questions be decided in his absence, unless he be allowed at least to make observations..."<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Mémoires D'un Témoin de la Révolution, ou Journal.|last=Bailly|first=Jean Sylvain|publisher=Baudouin frères.|year=1821|location=Paris|pages=106–107}}</ref></blockquote>

=== Food crisis ===
During the early years of the French Revolution, Paris was going through a major food shortage. Bailly's actions to circumvent the situation were of great importance in keeping the revolution alive. Bailly had deputies gather grain that was being hoarded, made the sale of wheat mandatory by farmers, and helped the bakers by making them first in line in the village markets.<ref name="Brucker" />{{rp|42}} Convoys that transported grain obtained by deputies were often attacked. To deter these attacks, Bailly signed a decree imposing a fine of five hundred livres on anyone found obstructing such convoys.<ref name="Brucker" />{{rp|43}} Not only did the mayor control the supply of grain in the city, but he also imported grain from Africa to increase the city's reserve. A provisional regime was established in October, 1789, in order to stabilize the administration of the government.<ref name="Brucker" />{{rp|40}} Doing so led to order being established within the different jurisdictions, allowing The Communal Assembly, with the help of Bailly, to gain control of the food crisis. By February, 1790, the situation in Paris had improved.<ref name="Brucker" />{{rp|41}}

=== National Guard ===
The [[National Guard (France)|National Guard]], formed during the revolution by The Communal Assembly, was weak and underfunded. Lafayette, chief of the militia, could only do so much to strengthen this newly formed military. It took persuading to get funding from the Assembly to cover the cost and wages brought on by the troops.<ref name="Brucker" />{{rp|49}} Bailly saw the importance of having a military that was well-equipped. In the fall of 1789, Bailly was able to acquire ammunition for the troops. In October 1789, Bailly was involved in the establishment of the National Guard department, whose purpose was to arm the military. The mayor not only played a role in strengthening the National Guard, but also issued orders to Lafayette when trying to maintain civility within the city.<ref name="Brucker" />{{rp|50}} Bailly's use of troops was to secure the prisons, certify the ''droits d'entrée'' would be collected, and to ensure that beggars would not congregate in the city.

=== Church property ===
In an unsuccessful attempt at financial reconstruction, the National Assembly had taken control of church property, making it available to buyers through the issue of non-negotiable bonds known as "[[assignat]]s".<ref name="Brucker" />{{rp|53}} Bailly, along with the Municipal Bureau, then came up with a proposition on 10 March 1790, asking the government to give the city of Paris 200,000,000 livres worth of church land for it to sell to private investors in a period of three years. For their work in selling the land, Bailly and his administration would retain 50,000,000 livres. The National Assembly agreed to this deal.<ref name="Brucker" />{{rp|53–54}} On 2 August 1790, Bailly was reelected as mayor.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=TU1gDwAAQBAJ&dq=jacobin+club+%C3%A9lection+maire+1790+Bailly&pg=PA181 Petites et Grandes Révolutions de la Famille de Milly: Recherches sur et ... by Alexandre Blondet, p. 181, 185]</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=e9EaAAAAYAAJ&dq=jacobin+club+%C3%A9lection+maire+1790+Bailly&pg=PA250 Les lundis révolutionnaires: 1790 by Jean-Bernard, pp. 250–251]</ref> He allowed investors to begin the purchasing of church property.<ref name="Brucker" />{{rp|55}} Before a year had passed, 28,000,000 livres worth of land had already been sold.<ref name="Brucker" />{{rp|56}} Bailly's proposal proved successful in generating revenue for Paris and the French state.

===Fall from favour===
After a [[Flight to Varennes|failed attempt]] by the royal family to flee the country, Bailly tried to contain the growing republican crowds asking for the King to step down. On the morning of 17 July 1791, tensions were rising as suspicion of treason grew. Citizens suspected of criticising the government or National Guard were being interrogated and detained.<ref name = "Andress">{{Cite book|title=Massacre at the Champ de Mars: popular dissent and political culture in the French Revolution|last=Andress|first=David|publisher=Royal Historical Society: Boydell Press|year=2000|location=Rochester}}</ref>{{rp|174–190}} Bailly soon heard of a gathering at the [[Champ de Mars]], where citizens were meeting to sign petitions calling for the overthrow of the King. Imposing martial law, he ordered the National Guard to disperse the large riotous assembly that had gathered. A violent response ensued and many people died, for which Bailly, along with [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette|Lafayette]], was considered responsible. What was to become known as the [[Champ de Mars Massacre]] was taken by the revolutionaries as an exemplar for oppression by the government.<ref name = "Andress" />{{rp|174–190, 213}} Having thereby become extremely unpopular, Bailly resigned on 12 November and was replaced four days later by [[Jerôme Pétion]]. Bailly moved to [[Nantes]], where he composed his ''Mémoires d'un Témoin'' (published in 3 volumes by MM. Berville and Barrière, 1821–1822), an incomplete narrative of the extraordinary events of his public life.