Recovery > Fall of the Dantonists

>  A Summary of what happened...

   Georges Danton was one of the most popular and enthusiastic people involved in the French Revolution, and he was executed on April 6, 1774. He made a famous speech in favour of the Revolutionary Tribunal, and he also served on the Committee of Public Safety from April to July of 1793, but afterwards, he took up a position on the sidelines of the Revolution.

.   Georges' friends were, unlike him, very active in the Revolution. In November of 1973, Camille Desmoulins created a new newspaper called 'Le Vieux Cordelier,' which became increasingly critical of the terror. Another long-time friend of Georges was Fabre d'Eglantine, who was implicated in the financial scandal surrounding the liquidation of the French East India Company, and Danton allowed himself to be compromised in this murky affair. Eventually, the political climate of France turned sour against Danton and his friends.

   Robespierre and his supporters on the Committee of Public Safety had destroyed the Committee's main critics on the left, the Hébertists, in March of 1794, and they were now ready to deal with their critics on the right--the Dantonists. Unfortunately for Robespierre, the Dantonists had no consistent policy, and so charges of conspiracy could not be proved. But Danton was still a potentially dangerous focus who opposed the Terrorist government. The Committee of Public Safety decided that he must be eliminated.

   The 'Dantonist faction' was created by the government and its public prosecutor, Fouquier Tinville. Danton was tried with his friends (such as Westermann and Desmoulins), but the prosecution added other suspects to incriminate them. The Frey brothers, for example, were not in league with Danton, but their presence in the dock supported feeble allegations that he was involved in a foreign plot against the country.

   Danton was a strong defender of himself and his friends at his trial. His thundering mannerisms threatened to turn the tables and put the regime itself on trial. The government committees were compelled to speed up proceedings, and the prosecution was authorized to refuse to let the accused speak. Their conviction was, in any case, a foregone conclusion.

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