problems facing the Directory

pol violence

the White Terror

• labelled white bc = colour of bourbon royal fam

  • but x exclusively royalist

• anti Jacobin backlash - labelled them as terrorists

  • mainly areas jacobin terror had been at its height (reactive)

• in rural areas eg Lyon, Marseilles, Toulon

  • rhone valley - murder gangs ambushed victims + put corpses in river

• c 2000 ppl killed

  • v few records bc killings = unlicensed

  • facilitated by govt/officials - turned blind eye

• violence = indiscriminate

  • bc any surviving jacobins had rejected jacobinism for self preservation

The Gilded Youth

• white terror group young ppl paris

• led by Louis Freron ‘Stanislaus’

  • demanded convention demolish Hotel de Ville + Jac clubs

• most = bourgeoise

• claimed to = victims of Terror

  • duty to avenge executed relatives

• sub culture

  • white cockades (symbol counter rev), coats w black collars (imitating vendee leaders)

• policed Palais Royal + Tuileries Gardens

  • threw anyone refusing to participate in their dance (Farandole) in water troughs

  • sang song ‘Ppl’s Awakenings’ - called for death of republicans

• x big threat - mostly youth excited by prospect of rebellion

pol divisions

Neo-Jacobins group

• new group led by Fouche (survivor of thermidor)

• based paris

  • many jacobins had fled provinces (fear of white terror)

• beliefs = jacobinism, robespierre’s utopian vision

• limited threat - most involved in terror executed/exiled

other diff individuals/factions

• small resurgence of royalists

  • allowed to re enter politics

• Sieyes re emerged post terror

• former girondins (who had survived purge) returned to pol prominence

• Francois-Antoine became influential

  • wanted return to govt by propertied classes

govt ideology

wanted to pursue policy of moderation to disassociate themselves w radical ideas assoc w Terror

popular protest

‘95 uprisings (socio econ unrest)

• Germinal

• Prairial

• provinces - disillusionment w convention’s inability to resolve famine

Germinal

• 10,000 unarmed crowd marched on convention

• demands = bread, ‘93 constitution

• national guard appeared → withdrew w/o resistance

Prairial

• armed crowd marched on convention demanding bread

  • made of housewives, workers, some National Guard units

• a deputy killed in the chaos

• convention = reluctant to use violence + fire at crowd

  • agreed to accept petition + set up Food Commission

  • → resolved

• followed by repression

  • 6,000 citizens disarmed/arrested

  • suburbs forced to give up arms/canons

• Prairial failed - pol inexperience, paris commune had been shut down (mobilised sc) etc

• marked end of sans culotte as a pol/military force, pop movement, radical phase of rev

econ pressure

dec ‘94

• Thermidoreans had abolished price controls

  • eg the general maximum

  • led to ⭡ cost of essential goods

• pursued policy of free trade

bad winter of ‘94-5

• led to crop failures + famine

  • → lots hoarding

  • death rate of Rouens doubled (starvation)

• ‘95 temps so low that rivers froze

• econ instability → govt struggled to pay for arms + army resources

  • govt printed more assignats

    • → the assignat lost 96% of its original value

• 20% parisians became so poor they had to rely on food relief

  • bread rations supplied by officials

    • assignat value so low farmers stopped accepting currency

    • → unable to import food from rural areas

• ⭡ anger, crime, prostitution

  • gangs of violent bandits in N France robbed travellers

    • tortured victims by burning their feet