The French Revolution

The political events of the French Revolution are extraordinarily well documented, but most people – both French nationals, and visitors to the country – tend to avert their gaze from the details of a period of history in which a nation descended into anarchy.
In particular, it is the image of the guillotine and of the massacres that took place in the streets of Paris that we have come to associate with these terrible times.
However, history is there for us to learn from, and anyone who loves France and the French way of life would probably be well advised to come to an understanding of what happened, why it happened, and what effect it still has on life today.

Robespierre was known as ‘the incorruptible’. He pioneered measures such as health care for the sick and pensions for the old but his name is now most commonly associated with ‘the Terror’ in which he denounced and executed anyone whose views differed from his own.

The ‘Etats Généraux’ had not been held for a hundred and fifty years, during which time the king had reigned as an absolute monarch.
The regime was now bankrupt and unable to pay the officials which kept it in power.

June 1789: The ‘Third Estate’ demand that the nobility and the clergy give up their privileges and agree to pay tax. When excluded from the ‘Etats Généraux’ they set up a ‘National Assembly’.

July 1789: Incited by the orators of the National Assembly, the people of Paris storm the Bastille, signalling an end to the absolute power enjoyed by the monarchy.

1789/1790: The assembly establishes new institutions in an attempt to create a constitutional monarchy similar to that of neighbouring countries; the King and his family are more or less forced to move from Versailles to Paris; new means of raising revenue are introduced, the most radical of which is the seizure of church property by the state.

1791: Although nominally the head of state, the King attempts to flee the country. He is recognised and brought back to Paris.

April 1792: The assembly declares war on Austria, and its ally, Prussia.

August 1792: The King seeks refuge in the Assembly but the building is stormed by the National Guard. The King is imprisoned on suspicion of being in league with Austria and Prussia. Power supposedly passes from the Assembly to ‘The Convention’ which is composed of delegates elected by universal suffrage, but in reality it is seized by Robespierre who controls the radical Paris ‘Commune’.

Sept 1792: The Prussian army which is advancing towards Paris meets the French army at Valmy. It is stopped in its progress and then withdraws. The monarchy is abolished and France becomes a republic.

1793: The King is executed. In order to continue the war, the Convention decides to introduce conscription which sparks a revolt in the Vendée, in Brittany, across the South-west of France and in many of the large towns, including Lyon, Marseille, and Bordeaux. Paris is subject to shortages of all goods and is gripped by famine. The government in Paris responds by introducing ‘The Terror’ in which anyone suspected of being opposed to their views is imprisoned and executed after a summary trial, with no right of appeal.

1794: Robespierre strengthens his position of absolute dictator by killing and imprisoning everyone who might be opposed to him. The war goes on and the French armies continue to be successful.

July 1794: The deputies of the Convention rebel against Robespierre. Robespierre himself is guillotined.

1795 to 1799: The Convention is replaced by a Directorate which is composed of the more moderate members of the Convention. The war continues. The government drifts towards bankruptcy.

1799: Napolean Bonaparte stages a coup d’état and the revolution is officially over.