Thermidorians
As Thermidorians refers to the members of a political group, which at the height of the French Revolution in 1794 (on 27 July 9th Thermidor ) the radical Montagnards to Maximilien Robespierre fell. They are named after the month of Thermidor (in German also hot month), the eleventh month of the republican calendar of the French Revolution. The deposition of Robespierre on July 27, 1794 is called Thermidor after this month . The day before, he had threatened various members of the National Convention , particularly Pierre Joseph Cambon , with death in a speech. Out of fear he was arrested the next day and executed on the 10th Thermidor with 21 of his followers.
The Thermidorians as Robespierre's opponents
With the execution of Robespierre, you ended the second phase of the revolution and paved the way for the reign of terror . Three groups can be distinguished among the members of the Convention who contributed to the Robespierre case:
- the moderates (mainly members of the Marais) such as Sieyès , Boissy d'Anglas or Cambacérès (who nonetheless took part in the establishment of terror, among other things by drafting the law on suspects)
- Opponents of Robespierre such as Tallien and Carrier (former Convention Commissioners whom Robespierre recalled to Paris)
- Individual members of the revolutionary government ( Barère , Carnot , Collot d'Herbois and Billaud-Varenne of the Welfare Committee ; Vadier and Amar of the Security Committee ) who were fully involved in the establishment and maintenance of terrorism later removed from power or by the moderates even as in the case of the Public Prosecutor Fouquier-Tinville , were executed.
The Thermidorians as a political club
At the beginning they were not organized as a club like their political competitors, but defined themselves through their opposition to the Jacobins positioned to their left and the royalists who were regaining strength on their right . Later a club headquarters developed in the Hotel de Noailles and a permanent tour by Paul de Barras .
The club was positioned strictly republican, anti-clerical and economically liberal, up to and including a right to vote that excluded the poorer sections of the population.
In the following period, the Thermidorians excluded the remaining Montagnards from all power, even those who had helped them in the conspiracy against Robespierre and Antoine de Saint-Just . This situation, known as the reaction, resulted in numerous arrests and several hundred executions, almost exclusively from the political left . In addition, there was a popular movement of youth, known as Jeunesse dorée , at the same time . Overall, this political weather situation is referred to as white terror .
In the further course, the Thermidorians had to demarcate themselves politically to the left and right. The greater danger threatened from the right through the Club de Clichy , which developed into a reservoir for former feuillants , constitutional monarchists and also extreme royalists and aristocrats. Height of the conflict lay in the choice of François Barthélemy director, which finally led to coup of 18 fructidor led. With the subsequent manipulation of the supplementary elections to the Council of Five Hundred , the Thermidorian group and the dominant director de Barras were able to hold onto power until the coup d'état of 18th Brumaire VIII .