At the Carnavalet Museum, a daring exhibition on Year II of the French Revolution

With a certain audacity, the Carnavalet museum tackled Year II, the most controversial year of the Revolution. It began on September 22, 1793 (one year after the proclamation of the First Republic) and ended on 9 Thermidor of the year II (July 27, 1794) with the arrest of Robespierre, then his execution the next day.

It is not easy to present to the public the life of Parisians under this regime called “the Terror” since 1794. Especially since the curators of the exhibition, encouraged by the historians of the scientific committee, wanted to nuance the perception of this period when the ‘you could be arrested for your ideas and guillotined in two days. Of course, political violence caused the disappearance of many figures of the Revolution. And “massacres, war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed in Vendée against populations deemed counter-revolutionary,” recalls one of the historians, Guillaume Mazeau.

However, despite an increasingly authoritarian government of the Committee of Public Safety, “the Convention refused to establish an official “terror” regime,” says its colleague Jean-Clément Martin. And the Committee did not want to choose a dictator. It was Robespierre’s former allies, including Tallien, who, after overthrowing him, designated him a posteriori as a terrorist. This allowed them to clear themselves of the crimes committed. » That year, the Paris Commune, in rivalry with the Convention, also played a major role in terms of power.

French Revolution: Terror, yes but…

This political tumult is exposed with the assassination of Marat – painted by David – to begin with, the evocation of prisons and the guillotine to finish. The route also shows the daily life of Parisians thanks to the objects on display. They are mobilized in the sans-culotte sections, engaged in the war on the borders, worried about supplies… But they benefit from free schooling, from care given by former nuns renamed “relief citizens”.

The practice of the arts is encouraged, particularly music with instruments confiscated from emigrants. “In light of the latest research,” concludes Guillaume Mazeau, “an embarrassing story is revealed, but richer than the traces left in our imagination. » Let’s bet that the debate on the Terror will be relaunched!