16 Vendémiaire
An CCXXXV
Pierre-Louis Prieur
Even in the National Assembly, many called Prieur Crieur (“shouter”) because of his fierce attacks on the monarchy. He never concealed what he thought of it. In the king’s trial, he voted for death without delay or conditions. As a member of the powerful Committee of Public Safety, he attracted little attention in Paris because he spent most of his time on missions — including on 9 Thermidor, when Robespierre fell. A supporter of the Incorruptible, he was not re-elected to the Committee of Public Safety. Surprisingly, he won re-election to it shortly afterward. After the Prairial uprising, he had to go into hiding for a time. When the Convention, nearing its end, proclaimed a general amnesty, he could reappear. He nevertheless withdrew from politics. In 1816, he had to leave France as a regicide. He died impoverished in exile in Brussels.
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1756 - 1827
- August 1, 1756 · Born in Sommesous (now in the Marne department).
- March 24, 1789 · Elected as a deputy of the Third Estate to the Estates-General.
- 1791 · After the king’s flight, he calls for an end to the king’s inviolability and for the possibility of deposing him.
- September 8, 1791 · Elected to the administration of the Marne department.
- November 11, 1791 · Appointed deputy public prosecutor in Paris.
- September 3, 1792 · Elected deputy for the Marne department to the National Convention.
- January 1793 · In the vote on the fate of Louis XVI, Prieur calls for the death penalty without conditions.
- July 10, 1793 · Elected to the Committee of Public Safety. He undertakes missions to the armies and to Brittany, where he enforces the policies of the Terror.
- July 27, 1794 · During Robespierre’s fall, Prieur is not in Paris. He then temporarily leaves the Committee of Public Safety and is re-elected to it in October.
- April 1, 1795 · He supports the insurgents during the Germinal uprising and calls for the release of revolutionaries imprisoned since 9 Thermidor.
- May 20, 1795 · Prieur takes part in the Prairial uprising. After it fails, he is charged and goes into hiding.
- October 1795 · He benefits from the general amnesty declared by the Convention as it nears its end, but withdraws from politics and resumes working as a lawyer in Paris.
- January 1816 · Prieur is banished from France as a regicide and moves to Brussels.
- May 31, 1827 · Dies in Brussels.
Quotes
He was a lawyer of imposing appearance and an ardent revolutionary. He spoke frequently and was one of those agitators given to sudden outbursts and impassioned tirades. He was known as the ‘Shouter of the Marne’.
Thibaudeau on Prieur
The entire people has accused Louis of conspiracy against the liberty of the people; the law has done the rest: it has prescribed death for conspirators. I pronounce this sentence with regret; but as the impassive instrument of the law, I pronounce death.
Prieur’s vote at the king’s trial, January 1793
We are having the priests who refused the oath pursued very vigorously. Some have already been caught; we hope to catch the remaining ones as well.
Prieur in a letter from Dinan to the Committee of Public Safety, 16 January 1794
Le Moniteur
Prieur de la Marne delivers a speech before the National Convention.
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