3 Floréal
An CCXXXIV
September Massacres
When, in September 1792, enemy troops stood just outside Paris, a rumor spread that the royalists intended to take bloody revenge on the revolutionaries in the event of an invasion. The mob then stormed the prisons. At first, the agitated crowd massacred imprisoned enemies of the Revolution, later also ordinary prisoners. Danton as the responsible Minister of Justice did nothing. In the heat of the political situation – the king had just been overthrown and the Republic had not yet even been officially proclaimed – some politicians found the bloodbath convenient. It ultimately spread fear and terror among the opponents of the Revolution. Marat later boasted that the people had followed his call for revenge.
1792
- September 2, 1792 · News of the fall of Verdun reaches Paris. Fear spreads that the city will be taken and that the prisons will rise in revolt. Crowds storm the prisons, first the Prison de l'Abbaye. In the evening, numerous priests are killed at the Prison des Carmes.
- September 3, 1792 · Violence spreads to other prisons. Improvised summary courts interrogate prisoners briefly before handing them over to the murderous crowd. Princess de Lamballe is murdered.
- September 4, 1792 · The massacres now also reach prisons holding common criminals. At the women’s institution of La Salpêtrière, numerous prisoners are killed. The killings continue to follow the same pattern: brief interrogations by improvised tribunals, followed by execution in the prison courtyard.
- September 5, 1792 · On this day, only the tribunal at La Force prison remains in operation.
- September 6, 1792 · The tribunal at La Force prison ceases its activity. End of the September Massacres. In total, more than a thousand people were killed.
Quotes
When justice fails, the people have the duty to make themselves judges.
Danton shortly before the beginning of the massacres in Paris.
People, you are killing your enemies! You are only doing your duty!
Billaud-Varenne
The people obeyed my voice. They saved France by granting themselves dictatorial powers to kill traitors.
Marat in the National Convention. This statement provoked a storm of outrage.
Le Moniteur
Vendredi 7 Septembre 1792 L'An quatrième de la Liberté, et le premiere de l'Égalité
Salpêtrière
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