Revolutionary

Born in Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise

Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise

Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The population of the canton is 14,939.-History:The county of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, usually referred to as just Saint-Pol, was originally a stronghold of the Counts of Flanders and was established as a county...

, he became administrator of the département of Pas-de-Calais after the outbreak of the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

, and, as an admirer of Maximilien Robespierre

Maximilien Robespierre

Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his...

, became a public agitator.

He escaped the death penalty after the Thermidorian Reaction

Thermidorian Reaction

The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the Committee of Public Safety to execute Maximilien Robespierre, Antoine Louis Léon de Saint-Just de Richebourg and several other leading members of the Terror...

, and befriended François-Noël Babeuf

François-Noël Babeuf

François-Noël Babeuf , known as Gracchus Babeuf , was a French political agitator and journalist of the Revolutionary period...

, being one of the main contributors to the conspiracy

Conspiracy (political)

In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....

 planned by the latter against the French Directory

French Directory

The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...

.

The action ought to have reflected the Manifesto of Equals, written by Sylvain Maréchal

Sylvain Maréchal

Sylvain Maréchal was a French essayist, poet, philosopher, and, as a political theorist, precursor of utopian socialism and communism...

, aiming at taking the power by violence and forcing an egalitarian society

Egalitarianism

Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...

, questioning the fact that democratic

Democracy

Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

 elections can be trusted to improve society.

Arrest and trial

On May 10, 1796 Babeuf was arrested with many of his associates, among whom was Darthé. The common trial was fixed to take place before the newly constituted High Court of Justice at Vendôme

Vendôme

Vendôme is a commune in the Centre region of France.-Administration:Vendôme is the capital of the arrondissement of Vendôme in the Loir-et-Cher department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It has a tribunal of first instance.-Geography:...

.

On Fructidor 10 and 11

French Republican Calendar

The French Republican Calendar or French Revolutionary Calendar was a calendar created and implemented during the French Revolution, and used by the French government for about 12 years from late 1793 to 1805, and for 18 days by the Paris Commune in 1871...

 (August 27 and August 28, 1796), when the prisoners were removed from Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, there were tentative efforts at a riot and planned rescue, but these were easily suppressed. The attempt of five or six hundred Jacobins

Jacobin Club

The Jacobin Club was the most famous and influential political club in the development of the French Revolution, so-named because of the Dominican convent where they met, located in the Rue St. Jacques , Paris. The club originated as the Club Benthorn, formed at Versailles from a group of Breton...

 (September 7) to rouse the soldiers at Grenelle

Grenelle

Grenelle is a neighbourhood in southwestern Paris, France. It is a part of the 15th arrondissement of the city.The area takes it name from Latin Garanella, meaning a wooded area where rabbits live...

 met with no better success.

The trial, begun at Vendôme on February 20, 1797, lasted two months. On Prairial 7 (May 26) Babeuf and Darthé were sentenced to death

Death Sentence

Death Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...

, and guillotine

Guillotine

The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...

d at Vendôme

Vendôme

Vendôme is a commune in the Centre region of France.-Administration:Vendôme is the capital of the arrondissement of Vendôme in the Loir-et-Cher department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It has a tribunal of first instance.-Geography:...

the next day (8 Prairial).