Recovery > The Fall of Robespierre > Memoirs of the right-wing deputy Durand-Maillane
On 9 Thermidor, a few moments before the famous session, I met Bourdon de l'Oise in the corridor and he shook me by the hand and said, 'Oh, what fine men sit on the right!' I went upstairs to the hall of Liberty and walked there briefly with Rovére; Tallien joined us but he immediately saw Saint-Just at the rostrum and left us, saying, 'There is Saint-Just at the rostrum; we must make an end of this.' We followed him and heard him from his position at the top of the seats where the Montagnards grouped, sharply interrupting Saint-Just and beginning the attack.
Robespierre went to the rostrum to defend Saint-Just; nothing could be heard but shouts of 'Down with the tyrant! Arrest him!' As this commotion was still coming only from the Montagnard benches, Robespierre turned towards us and said, 'Deputies of the Right, men of honour, men of virtue, give me the right to speak which these murderers are refusing me.' He thought we would thus reward his protection of us. But we had made our choice: no reply and absolute silence until the motion for the arrest of Robespierre and his associates was put to the vote. We all voted for the motion, and so the decision was unanimous. There was Robespierre, then, all-powerful Robespierre, under order of arrest, arrested, but not quite defeated. He was refused admission to the Luxembourg prison and taken to the Hôtel de Ville, where all his supporters gathered to defend him and to bring down the Convention.
Henriot, commander of the Paris National Guard, arrived after dark with his troops to seize the other members of the Committees of Public Safety and General Security and came to the door of our chamber with guns. We were told of this sudden assault during the deliberations of our evening session. It was proposed that Henriot be declared an outlaw, and this was immediately decreed. If ever I expected to die, it was certainly then. Henriot learned of the decree at once, and instead of attacking us or at least holding us where we were, unarmed and in his power, he withdrew. I could hardly believe it, but it seems that in accordance with the decree of outlawry no one would obey his orders.