Panthéon Club
Reunion of Friends of the Republic | |
Réunion des Amis de la République | |
 | |
| Named after | Panthéon |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Jacobin Club |
| Formation | 6 November 1795 |
| Dissolved | 27 February 1796 |
| Type | Political Club |
| Legal status | dissolved |
| Purpose | Pressure theDirectoryto more radical positions |
| Headquarters | Abbey of Saint Genevieve,Montagne Sainte-Geneviève |
| Location | |
ThePanthéon clubwas a French revolutionary political club founded in Paris the 6 November 1795. Its official name wasReunion of Friends of the Republic(Réunion des Amis de la République). It was composed of formerterroristsand unconditionalJacobinscoming from thepetite bourgeoisie.[1][note 1]
The club met on theMontagne Sainte-Geneviève,in the former royalAbbey of St Genevieve,near thePanthéon,nowLycée Henri-IV.
Among the founders was René Lebois, printer and journalist of theOrateur plébéien,maybe aBarrasagent. The club was attended by those who wanted to redirect theDirectorypolicy toward the left in the way of the defeat of the13 Vendémiaire royalist insurrection.However, the politics of the club were initially rather moderate and respectful of legality in refusing to receive the ineligibleNational Conventionmembers.[2]
But the club soon attracted a number of former Montagnards, includingJean-Pierre-André AmarandPierre Joseph Duhem,former members of theCommittee of General Security,Pierre-Antoine Antonelle,Sylvain Maréchal,Restif de La Bretonne,Jean-Nicolas Pache,andRobert Lindet,as well asPhilippe Buonarroti,aBabeuffriend,[3]who moved the club in the direction of radical republicanism.
Membership in the club grew rapidly: from 934 members the 29 November 1795, its meetings attracted about 2,400 people in February 1796.[1]
Several members of the club, defeated in theNational Conventionelection, as well asterroristslikeAugustin Darthé,former prosecutor for theRevolutionary Tribunal,nurtured the ambition of transforming the club.[4]They wanted the government to give up theConstitution of the Year IIIof 1795 to go back to the more radicalConstitution of 1793.Although not member of the club, Gracchus Babeuf was one of the key speakers and developed hisequalitydoctrine viewed as essential elements forcommunism.
Fearing that the club might disturb law and public order and even its own legitimacy, the Directory ordered its dissolution, and on 27 February 1796 theGénéralBonaparte,commanding theArmy of the Interior,carried out the orders.
The leaders of the club would subsequently form the core of Babeuf'sConspiracy of the Equals.[2]
Notes[edit]
- ^Membership was 50French livreswhich excluded common people
References[edit]
- ^abDenis Woronoff (2013).La République bourgeoise.Points. pp. 46–.ISBN978-2-7578-3927-0.
- ^abPaul R. Hanson (23 February 2007).The A to Z of the French Revolution.Scarecrow Press. pp. 247–.ISBN978-1-4617-1606-8.
- ^Philippe Riviale (2011).Le procès de Gracchus Babeuf devant la Haute cour de Vendôme, ou, La vertu coupable.Harmattan. p. 154.ISBN978-2-296-56127-4.
- ^Jean Tulard (23 February 2005).Les Thermidoriens.Fayard. pp. 74–.ISBN978-2-213-64080-8.
