French Violence

On the other hand, the French people weren’t the only ones to start violence. The government instigated violence too. For example, the Champ the Mars on the 17th of July 1791, was a peaceful signing of a republican petition, by the poorer section of the Parisian people. The Commune declared martial law under pressure of the Assembly and ordered Lafayette and the National Guard fire on the unarmed and peaceful crowd. Around 50 people were killed. As a consequence National Assembly got support from the provinces, as they did not want a republic government. Another consequence was that the martial law could remain in place, which meant allowed the government to hunt down and arrest popular leaders, which also led to Danton, Marat and Hébert
Another example is the flight to Varennes; the king felt like a prisoner in his own country and feared the lives of his family. Therefore, he decided to flee Paris with them on the 20th of June 1791. However, he was caught and the National Guard took him and his family back to Paris safely. They could have killed him, for leaving them in theses difficult times and lost there trust and what was left of his popularity. However, despite this they did not kill him and his family. No violence at all was used, even tough it could have been used and been justified.

King Louis was executed as a governmental violence; he was voted to be guillotined. This put a temporary stop to the violence. However, it also now that the king was gone, the economic struggle worsening, struggle with religion and war in Europe, led to tensions in France, which allowed the violence to escalate out of hand and cause the period know as “the terror” and give the opportunity for new leaders to rise up and take the country under control, Leaders such as Maximilien Robespierre, “the incorruptible”. Robespierre was the most influential member of the Committee as he was a big public speaker. He was also
The economic situation was clearly visible throughout the entire Revolution and instigated many violent revolts. Furthermore the government rule could also be seen throughout the entire Revolution. The government was instable and mostly inexperienced. In addition to that the government kept on changing radically, which meant the people didn’t have anything to hold on to, as everything kept on changing. Lastly, the war was a major player on the field. The war, with major events such as the Vendée rebellion caused uncertainty in the government, chaos and the worsening of both the previous reasons. Furet’s theory represents the violence in Revolution as a spreading cancer and I agree. “In some depressing unavoidable sense violence was the Revolution itself”-Simon