page_title: Maximilien Robespierre
section_title: Downfall
hierarchical_section_title: Maximilien Robespierre / Downfall
caption_attribution_description: English: The Fall of Robespierre in the Convention on 27 July 1794Deutsch: Der Sturz Robespierres im Konvent am 27. Juli 1794
context_page_description: Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre was a French lawyer and statesman who was one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Constituent Assembly and the Jacobin Club, he campaigned for universal manhood suffrage and the abolition both of celibacy for the clergy, and slavery. In 1791, Robespierre became an outspoken advocate for the citizens without a political voice, for their unrestricted admission to the National Guard, to public offices, and for the right to carry arms in self-defence. He played an important part in the agitation which brought about the fall of the French monarchy on 10 August 1792 and the summoning of a National Convention. His goal was to create a united and indivisible France, equality before the law, to abolish prerogatives and to defend the principles of direct democracy.
  As one of the leading members of the insurrectionary Paris Commune, Robespierre was elected as a deputy to the French Convention in early September 1792 but was soon criticised for trying to establish either a triumvirate or a dictatorship.
context_section_description: On 20 May, Robespierre personally signed the warrant for Theresa Cabarrus' arrest. Never did Robespierre pursue a victim more remorselessly.  On 23 May,  Cécile Renault was arrested after having approached Robespierre's residence with two penknives and a change of underwear in her bag. She said the fresh linen was for her execution. Dressed in a red smock she was executed together with her parents (and 52 others) one week later. Robespierre refused to reunite husbands, wives and children dispersed in different prisons in a common detention house. He used this assassination attempt against him as a pretext for scapegoating the British. 
  On 10 June, the Law of 22 Prairial was introduced without consultation from the Committee of General Security, which deepened the conflict between the two committees. It doubled the number of executions;  the so-called "Great Terror" had begun. Collot d'Herbois, Fouché and Tallien feared for their lives, due to the excesses carried out by them  in various regions of France to stamp out opposition to the revolutionary government.  Almost all the deputies agreed it had become dangerous. 
  On 11 June Robespierre attacked Fouché, accusing him of leading a conspiracy.  On 24 June Carnot foresightedly despatched a large part of the Parisian artillery to the front. At the end of June, Saint-Just arrived in Paris and discovered that Robespierre's political position had degraded significantly. Carnot and Cambon proposed to end the terror.  Carnot described Saint-Just and Robespierre as "ridiculous dictators".  On 1 July, Robespierre spoke in the Jacobin club: "In London, I am denounced to the French army as a dictator; the same slanders have been repeated in Paris." On 3 July he left the Committee slamming the door and shouting "Then save the country without me". He attacked Tallien and had him excluded from the Jacobins on 11 July. On 14 July Robespierre had Fouché expelled. To evade arrest, which usually took place during the night, about fifty deputies avoided staying at home.  On 22 and 23 July,  the two committees met in a plenary session. Both committees were responsible for suppressing counterrevolution but ended targeting each other. Saint-Just declared in negotiations with Barère that he was prepared to make concessions on the subordinate position of the Committee of General Security. Couthon agreed to more cooperation between the two committees. For Robespierre, the Committee of General Security had to remain subordinate to the Committee of Public Safety. He wanted to take away the authority of the Committee of General Security.
  On 23 July the Commune published a new maximum, limiting the wages of employees (in some cases by half) and provoking a sharp protest in the sections. Almost all the workers in Paris were on strike. Robespierre decided to make himself clear in a new report, hoping to be reelected in the Committee of Public Safety for another year. On Saturday 26 July, Robespierre reappeared at the convention and delivered a two-hour-long speech on the villainous factions. Dressed in the same sky-blue coat and nankeen trousers which he had worn on the proclamation of the Supreme Being, he defended himself against charges of dictatorship and tyranny and then proceeded to warn of a conspiracy against the Committee of Public Safety. Calumny, he charged, had forced him to retire for a time from the Committee of Public Safety; he found himself the most unhappy of men. He gave the impression that no one was his friend, that no one could be trusted. He complained of being blamed for everything; and that not only England but also members of the Committee of General Security were involved in intrigue to bring him down. (When he was interrupted Robespierre accused the Convention of limiting the freedom of speech; Billaud Varennes replied they all wanted that.) Specifically, he railed against the bloody excesses he had observed during the Terror. "I'm made to fight crime, not to govern it ", he exclaimed. Intoxicated with his virtue, Robespierre  announced a new wave of purification. "Punish t
caption: The Fall of Robespierre in the convention on 27 July 1794
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