Political Factions and the Rise of the French Republic

Political Factions and the New Regime

Reforms satisfied bourgeois groups because they granted political rights and economic freedom. However, the new regime had many opponents: the nobility, the clergy, the popular sectors, and the monarchy. They showed their discontent with the restriction of suffrage to those who owned property or money and the rising cost of living.

Among the revolutionaries, three main groups stood out:

• Girondins: These were a group of deputies of the French Convention who defended freedom and property rights as an inalienable right.
• Jacobins: These club members were radical; they defended the alliance with the popular classes, the proclamation of the Republic, and the right to equality over freedom.
• Cordeliers: This was a political society of a radical character created during the French Revolution.

The Failure of the Constitutional Monarchy

The opposition of the royal family to the Revolution was declared following their flight from Paris to join the Austrian army and return to absolutism (Flight to Varennes, June 1791). The Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria. The Austrians invaded France and reached the gates of Paris. This situation created a climate of revolt among the sans-culottes, who stormed the royal palace; the monarch was imprisoned, and the Republic was proclaimed.

The Democratic Republic and the Girondin Convention

The Republic was in the hands of the Girondin wing, which held elections by universal male suffrage for the new National Convention. The Convention held a trial against King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette, who were charged with treason. In the spring, the Republic was in danger. In the country's interior, some counter-revolts broke out, such as in The Vendée. Above all, the Allied armies finally invaded France.

The Jacobin Convention and the Committee of Public Safety

The Jacobins seized power, and the main Girondin political leaders were detained. That same year, they proclaimed a new constitution based on popular sovereignty, universal suffrage, the right to life, and equality. Executive power remained in the hands of a Committee of Public Safety, which concentrated all power in Robespierre.

To confront the external threat, the Republic organized an army and decreed a mass levy. The committee suspended freedoms, and suspected counter-revolutionaries were punished with prison or death under the Law of Suspects. To respond to the desires of the sans-culottes, the Committee of Public Safety adopted a series of social laws:

• The control of prices and wages (Law of Maximum).
• The distribution of goods among the poor.
• The sale of clergy lands in small lots.
• The closure of churches and the establishment of the cult of the Goddess Reason.

The Fall of the Jacobins and Robespierre

By summer, the hazards decreased: internal revolts had been suppressed, and French armies imposed themselves against the foreign coalition. However, the radicalization of the revolution, the Terror, and the dictatorial government of the Jacobins provoked opposition from much of the population. Thus, in July 1794, the Jacobin Robespierre and other leaders were overthrown and executed.