The Plain La Plaine | |
|---|---|
| Main members | Félix-Julien-Jean Bigot de Préameneu François-Antoine de Boissy d'Anglas Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès Lazare Carnot Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès |
| Founded | 6 September 1791; 234 years ago (1791-09-06) |
| Dissolved | 2 November 1795; 230 years ago (1795-11-02) |
| Headquarters | Tuileries Palace,[citation needed] Paris |
| Newspaper | Journal des débats[citation needed] |
| Ideology | Liberalism Republicanism |
| Political position | Centre |
| Colors | Grey |
The Plain (French:la Plaine), also known asthe Marsh (French:le Marais), was the majority of independent deputies in theNational Convention during theFrench Revolution. They were the mostmoderate and the most numerous group (around 400 deputies) of the National Convention, as they sat betweenthe Girondins on their right andthe Montagnards (the Mountain) on their left. Their name arises from the fact their benches were by the debating floor, lower down from the Montagnards. Its members were also known asMaraisards, or derogatorilyToads (French:crapauds du Marais) as toads live in marshes.
Coming mostly from theliberal andrepublican bourgeoisie, the Plain was attached to the political conquests of 1789 and to the work of the French Revolution and wanted the union of all republicans. In practice, this group was very heterogeneous as it included noblemen and clericals likeHenri Grégoire,François Antoine de Boissy d'Anglas,Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès, andEmmanuel Joseph Sieyès; at the same time, some of its members likeBertrand Barère,Pierre-Joseph Cambon,Lazare Carnot, andGeorges Couthon joined the Montagnards in the spring of 1793.
At the time of the Montagnards' seizure of power (the days of 31 May and 2 June 1793), theircentrist position at the National Convention remained ambiguous. While the Plain deputies tried to play the role of mediators, they admitted the merits of the public safety measures voted with their support, or even their impetus, for several months; however, most of them demonstrated their hostility towardsMaximilien Robespierre on9 Thermidor, Year II, by rallying the instigators of the plot who were representatives on a mission recalled to Paris (Paul Barras,Joseph Fouché,Louis-Marie Stanislas Fréron, andJean-Lambert Tallien).
The Plain and Marsh names come from their position, which was compared with the geographical areas ofplain andmarsh and by opposition to the Montagnards. The newspaperL'Ami du peuple is credited with having invented the term Marsh in reference to the Plain. Its members were sometimes disdainfully called by their adversaries the "toads of the Marais".Pierre Joseph Duhem, a Montagnard deputy, was quoted as saying: "The toads of the Marais are raising their heads! So much the better; it will be easier to cut them off."[1][2]
The origin of the name continues to be debated. If the name Girondins to describe the group ofJacques Pierre Brissot's followers is simply explained by their geographical origin, those of the Montagnards and the members of the Plaine continue to raise questions because several interpretations are possible. The most widespread consists of sticking to the letter of the terms used: the Montagnard deputies sat on the left on the highest benches of this assembly, hence the reference to the Mountain, and those of the Plaine on the lower benches. This classification is already present in an ancient text that many revolutionaries read, the "Life of Solon" from theParallel Lives, wherePlutarch (taking up the texts ofHerodotus andAristotle) describes the political divisions inAncient Athens in these terms: "The Hill-men favoured an extremedemocracy; the Plain-men an extremeoligarchy; the Shore-men formed a third party, which preferred an intermediate andmixed form of government, was opposed to the other two, and prevented either from gaining the ascendancy."[nb 1] Biblical and evangelical references are also present because the Mountain is perceived as a newMount Sinai (with theDeclaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen as a newDecalogue), with further references to theSermon on the Mount ofJesus.[3]
During its existence, the Plain represented centrist positions;[4] however, it was not static and evolved. The Plain was more centrist starting from the National Convention that began in 1792 and ended in 1795, and during this time the Plain's independent deputies represented its largest group.[5][6][7] As member of theJacobin Club, the Plain was initially part of theleft-wing groups. The1791 French legislative election resulted in a majority of around 350 moderate constitutionalists (the Plain), followed by more than 250Feuillants (divided intoFayettists andLametists), and a left-wing made up of around 136Jacobin deputies, including several provincial politicians (includingArmand Gensonné,Marguerite-Élie Guadet, andPierre Victurnien Vergniaud, originally fromGironde, hence the name of the Girondins), with a small group of more advanced democrats (Lazare Carnot,Georges Couthon, andJean-Baptiste Robert Lindet).[8][9] Parliamentary groups, such as the Plain, the Montagnards, and the Girondins, never had any official status; thus, historians generally tend to estimate the Girondins in the National Convention at around 150 and the Montagnards at around 120, with the remaining 480 of the 750 deputies being called the Plain. Deputies of the Plain managed to keep some speed in the debates while the Montagnards and the Girondins were mainly occupied with nagging the opposite side.[10]
None ofRevolutionary France's three main political groups was an organizedpolitical party. While the Montagnards and the Girondins consisted of individuals with similar views and agendas who socialized together and often coordinated political plans, the Plain consisted of uncommitted delegates that did not adhere to a single ideology,[11] were not part of any political club,[12] and lacked leadership.[12] They constituted the majority of delegates to the Convention at 389 of 749,[11] and voted with the Girondins or the Montagnards depending on the persuasiveness of arguments on single issues,[7] current circumstances, and mood of the National Convention. They initially sided with the Girondins;[11] by 1793, many backed the Montagnards in executingLouis XVI and inaugurating theReign of Terror.[11] The January 4 address, made by Plain memberBertrand Barère,[7] is credited in part for rallying undecided fellow members against the king.[13]
Nearly all those elected to theCommittee for Public Safety in 1793 were members of the Plain, including the popular Barère.[14] Later in 1794, disaffected Montagnards members led byJean-Lambert Tallien made a pact with Plain leadersJulien-François Palasne de Champeaux,François Antoine de Boissy d'Anglas andPierre-Toussaint Durand de Maillane to end the Reign of Terror,[15][16][17] ultimately inaugurating theThermidorian Reaction. Other notable members in 1792 includedEmmanuel Joseph Sieyès,[7]Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès,Antoine Claire Thibaudeau,Henri Grégoire,Philippe-Antoine Merlin de Douai,Louis Gustave le Doulcet de Pontécoulant,Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux, dramatistMarie-Joseph Chénier, andJacques-Antoine Dulaure who later sat with the Girondins.[18]Pierre Claude François Daunou who associated with the Girondins has also been regarded as part of the Plain.[18]
| Legislative Assembly | |||||
| Election year | No. of overall votes | % of overall vote | No. of overall seats won | +/– | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1791 | 1,978,000 (1st) | 46.3 | 345 / 745 | New | |
| National Convention | |||||
| 1792 | 1,747,200 (1st) | 51.9 | 389 / 749 |  44 | |
| Legislative Body | |||||
| 1795 | Did not participate | Did not participate | 200 / 750 |  189 | |
{{cite thesis}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)Allouche, Élie (2005).99 questions sur la Révolution française. Montpellier: CRDP de Montpellier.Allouche, Élie (2008).Cours d'Histoire de France. Paris: Vuibert.
