93/Final Year

1793 - the great year of the Revolution when many important events took place. Maxime continued to oppose war abroad and sought to raise opposition to the royalist rebellions that threatened the Vendee. In this political climate the 'Mountain' finally triumphed over the Girodins in the Convention thanks, at least in part, to the betrayal by the Girodin general, Dumouriez.

An important group created by the Convention was the Committee of Public Safety and Robespierre was elected to this committee of 12, replacing Danton, on 27 July 1793. In March 1793 the Convention had also created the Revolutionary Tribunal to judge all enemies of the Republic. The Terror was ready to begin. Maxime's popularity was at its peak and he was a well thought of speaker at both the Convention and the Jacobin club, where he rarely missed a session.

Pressure from the sans-culottes (the people of Paris) increased the Reign of Terror as they demanded the arrest of enemies and traitors and things continued to be stirred up by a reactionary group known as the "Enrages". Power was arrested from this group though and the year roled onwards to its inevitable conclusion. A new calendar was created to break away from all things Catholic and Marie-Antoinette went to the guillotine. Further breaks with the church occured in November when the Festival of Reason was celebrated. Many Girondins were also accused and executed though Maxime saved many by speaking on their behalf.

Maxime delivered one of his most important speeches in December 1793 on the subject of the principals of a revolutionary government - to fight for liberty. In part due to this speech, the new Constitution of 1793 was put aside "until peace".

By the Spring of 1794 the revolts in the Vendee had been mostly put down and the Committee of Public Safety moved its attention to the enemies within Paris. Herbert and his followers were first to go. Suspected of preparing a coup d'etat, they were sentenced in March 1794. Just a few weeks later Danton and his supporters were suspected too and condemned to death despite Maxime's personal feelings against their execution. There were attempts in May, seemingly by royalists, to assisinate Robespierre but they failed.

On 4 June 1794 Maxime was elected president of the Convention and on 8 June the Festival of the Supreme Being was celebrated. This proved to be Maxime's biggest mistake. The Cult of the Supreme Being had, at Maxime's insistence, been proclaimed the national religion the previous month. It was based on Rousseau's idea of Deism and upset both Catholics and athesits. Maxime was against the corruption of the Catholic church and had helped end it but he was still a believer at heart and this was a way to continue that. The Supreme Being; God by any other name. He also felt it was time to end the terror and unite the people. The major role he played in the festivities also bothered many who thought he was setting himself up too high.

Then the law of 22 Prairial (10 June) was passed, which accelerated the process of justice in the Tribunal. The Terror intensified. Some claim Robespierre was a dictator during his last few months but this is not the case at all and was merely the opinion given by those who overthrew him in order to justify their actions. Really he had no more power than any of the other 11 members of the Committee of Public Safety. Maxime was simply prominant because of his importance within groups such as the Jacobins.

There were further whispers against Maxime on 26 June, when he saved Catherine Theot from the guillotine. She was a fanatic and claimed to have had visions of Maxime, declaring him a Messiah. By the end of June the Committee of Public Safety and the Convention were both rife with suspicion. Maxime himself had been over worked recently with various groups and roles vying for his attention. He was exhausted and didn't notice the growing feeling against him. The sans-culottes felt that he had abandoned them and didn't come to his aid when he was attacked. Plus he had never courted favour with the army so he could not call on them. The support that was rallied for him was too little and too late.

It all ended on 27 July 1794 (9 Thermidor II). Maxime was accused and was not allowed to speak in his own defence at the Convention. He and some of his supporters, including Saint Just, Couthon and his brother, were arrested but soldiers loyal to them rescued them and took them to the Hotel de Ville. The Convention, led now by Tallien and his supporters, were determined though and set out to recapture them. During this second arrest Maxime received a bullet through the jaw. It remains undecided as to whether this was a shot from one of the soldiers trying to arrest him or a botched suicide attempt.

They were taken to the Conciergerie prison. Maxime's wound was bound but he spent the few hours they were there in agony. The next day (10 Thermidor) he and his friends were guillotined. As he ascended the scaffold the bandage was ripped from him, making him cry out on pain. His severed head was displayed to the crowd.

Tallien and the others made sure his image was vilified and this continued until quite recently when historians began to examine the facts again and found the truth. Books such as the "Scarlet Pimpernel" novels have not helped as they continue to portray Maxime as a bloodthirsty tyrant. Really he was a good man; a man with faults but who sought always to do the right thing.

Maxime is one of the few leaders who kept his intentions pure and didn't take bribes.Throughout his life he remained "L'Incorruptible."