Key Events and Figures of the French Revolution

The Political Groups

The revolutionaries envisioned the nation’s transformation in various ways. Within the Constituent Assembly, the constitutionalists, led by Mirabeau and La Fayette, exerted considerable influence. They advocated for a monarchy with moderate constitutional constraints. A segment of the aristocracy aligned with this group.

• The Girondins represented the moderate sector. Their most prominent figure was Jacques Pierre Brissot, and key members belonged to the upper class of the Gironde, Bordeaux, and Nantes regions, involved in overseas trade. This group sought to advance the revolution through legal means, rejecting terror and defending property rights. They believed revolutionary ideals held universal value and emphasized centralizing power in Paris.
• The Jacobins represented the bourgeoisie and middle classes. Maximilien Robespierre was their most representative figure. This group believed that the revolution must achieve its objectives by any means necessary, prioritizing action over theory. They were centralists, believing the revolution originated in Paris, where they controlled the council. They were willing to limit private property and individual liberty.
• The Democrats, the most radical faction, led by Lazare Carnot, championed universal suffrage and direct popular sovereignty. Jean-Paul Marat’s group aligned with the Democrats but preferred street action over legislative processes.

The French Revolution (1789-1799)

This period of French history, from the formation of the Estates-General on May 5, 1789, to the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799, witnessed the collapse of the old regime and the bourgeoisie’s seizure of political power. The old regime’s societal structure failed to accommodate the new economic and social realities, excluding the dynamic bourgeoisie, which became the revolutionary class, from political power. Economic crises further fueled revolutionary forces. Enlightenment philosophy, with its emphasis on human dignity, progress, and happiness, provided the ideological foundation.

The Revolt of the Privileged (1787-1789)

The revolution’s preliminary stage began when the monarchy’s ministers attempted to address the economic crisis by revoking tax privileges. The Assembly of Notables (1787) and the parliaments refused to endorse these reforms, leading to the convening of the Estates-General in Versailles on May 5, 1789.

The National Constituent Assembly (1789-1791)

The revolutionary process had begun, and the bourgeoisie (Third Estate) demanded deliberation with the other estates. They formed the National Assembly and took the Tennis Court Oath. Most of the nobility and clergy joined them, and on July 9, 1789, the National Constituent Assembly was proclaimed. This marked the revolution’s first stage. Fearing a counter-revolution, the people of Paris mobilized, and on July 14, 1789, stormed the Bastille, a symbol of the absolutist monarchy. The National Guard, under La Fayette’s command, was created, and the movement spread throughout the country. Many aristocrats emigrated, and a large peasant uprising, the Great Fear of 1789, ensued. The Assembly abolished the feudal regime and adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Faced with resistance, the people marched on Versailles, forcing the king and the Assembly to relocate to Paris in October 1789. The Assembly promulgated the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, reformed the tax system and administration, and prohibited strikes and worker associations (Le Chapelier Law, June 14, 1791). The king, opposed to the revolutionary advancements, attempted to flee abroad but was arrested in Varennes on June 21, 1791. Finally, the Constitution, a liberal bourgeois monarchy, was voted on September 3, 1791, and the Constituent Assembly gave way to the Legislative Assembly (1791-1792).

The Radical Revolution (1792-1795)

The defeat of French troops against Austria and Prussia led to radicalization. The popular uprisings of August 10, 1792, in Paris, instigated by the Jacobins and sans-culottes, marked a second, more democratic and popular revolution. The Prussian invasion was halted at Valmy, the monarchy was abolished, the republic proclaimed, and the Legislative Assembly replaced by the National Convention (1792-1795). Louis XVI was condemned to death and executed on January 21, 1793. The Convention faced the Royalist insurrection in the Vendée, fueled by peasant discontent. The war abroad escalated; nearly all of Europe was at war with revolutionary France. The Girondins, unable to control the situation, were supplanted by the Jacobins in June 1793, led by Jean-Paul Marat, Georges-Jacques Danton, and Maximilien Robespierre. The Revolutionary Tribunal of Paris and the Committee of Public Safety were created, and the Constitution of 1793 was enacted. After Marat’s assassination and Danton’s displacement, Robespierre rose to power, supported by the sans-culottes, and initiated the Reign of Terror. These radical measures helped suppress the Vendée revolt and the federalist insurrection (led by the bourgeoisie controlling departmental administrations) and repel the foreign invasion. With the immediate danger subsided, the Jacobin faction weakened, and Herbert and Danton were executed. The bourgeoisie, opposing Robespierre’s economic and social policies, overthrew him in the coup of 9 Thermidor Year II (July 27, 1794). Robespierre, Saint-Just, and other Jacobin leaders were executed.

The Thermidorian Reaction (1794-1799)

The revolution entered its third phase, the Thermidorian Reaction, which dismantled the Jacobins’ work and returned control to the revolutionary bourgeoisie. Popular resistance movements (Germinal and Prairial uprisings in the spring of 1795) were suppressed. A new, moderate constitution, the Constitution of the Year III, was promulgated. A new political institution, the Directory, lacking popular support, relied on the military to confront the royalist reaction. The Conspiracy of Equals, led by Gracchus Babeuf, was thwarted. Coups were launched against both the resurgent royalists (Coup of 18 Fructidor Year V, September 4, 1797) and the leftist victors in the elections (Coup of 22 Floréal Year VI, May 11, 1798). Military victories brought strength and prestige to Napoleon Bonaparte, who, with the help of Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès and other Directory members, staged the coup of 18 Brumaire (November 9, 1799), ending the revolutionary process and ushering in the Consulate.