18 Prairial
An CCXXXIV
Jacques-Alexis Thuriot
On 9 Thermidor, Thuriot rang the bell of the president of the National Convention, again and again. In his final sitting of the Convention, Robespierre was no longer able to speak. Had he been heard, everything might still have changed. But that was exactly what the Thermidorians wanted to prevent. The Incorruptible was not allowed to speak. Tumult, noise, death threats – and a presiding officer who allowed only the conspirators to take the floor. Saint-Just, Robespierre, Couthon and Lebas fell silent. The uprising succeeded. The next day, the heads of the outlawed deputies fell on the Place de la Révolution. Afterwards, Thuriot, himself a Montagnard, had to go into hiding for a time during the Thermidorian Reaction. He was later able to resume his legal career. He died in exile.
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1753 - 1829
- May 1, 1753 · Jacques-Alexis Thuriot de la Rozière is born in Sézanne.
- 1778 · Lawyer in Reims.
- July 14, 1789 · As representative of the Paris district of Saint-Louis-la-Culture, he negotiates with the commander of the Bastille over the surrender of the fortress to the insurgents without a fight.
- September 1791 · Elected to the Legislative Assembly as deputy for the department of Marne.
- September 1792 · The department of Marne elects him as deputy to the National Convention.
- July 10, 1793 · Elected to the Committee of Public Safety. In September, he leaves it again after disagreements with Robespierre.
- November 1793 · Under pressure from the Hébertists, Thuriot is expelled from the Jacobin Club.
- July 1794 · Thuriot, a former Dantonist and moderate Montagnard, sees himself on Robespierre’s supposed death list and joins the conspiracy against the tyrant.
- July 27, 1794 · As vice-president of the National Convention, he temporarily presides over the sitting of 9 Thermidor. He prevents Robespierre and his political allies from speaking.
- May 1795 · After the failed Prairial uprising, he escapes an imminent arrest by fleeing.
- October 26, 1795 · General amnesty of the departing Convention. Thuriot can appear in public again.
- May 11, 1798 · Elected as deputy to the Council of Five Hundred. His election is annulled in the course of the Floréal coup of the Directory.
- April 1803 · Judge at the criminal court of the department of Seine.
- 1816 · As a regicide, Thuriot has to leave France. In Liège, he resumes his profession as a lawyer.
- June 29, 1829 · Death in Liège.
Quotes
One cannot imagine what scoundrels are capable of when they seek to obstruct the revolution of a people.
Thuriot, 6 June 1793
President of assassins, for the last time, I demand the floor!
Robespierre to Thuriot on 9 Thermidor Year II (27 July 1794)
The soil of the Republic must be purged of a monster who was in a position to have himself proclaimed king.
Thuriot, 10 Thermidor Year II (28 July 1794)
Le Moniteur
As vice-president of the Convention, Thuriot presided over the sitting of 9 Thermidor.
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