Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux
Encyclopedia
Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux (24 August 1753 – 24 March 1824) was a French
politician
, member of the French Directory
He was born at Montaigu
(Vendée
), the son of J. B. de la Révellière. He adopted the name Lépeaux from a small property belonging to his family, and he was known locally as M. de Lépeaux. He studied law
at Angers
and Paris
, being called to the bar
in 1775. A deputy to the Estates-General of 1789
, he returned at the close of the session to Angers, where with his school-friends J. B. Leclerc and Urbain-René Pilastre he sat on the council of Maine-et-Loire
, and had to deal with the first Vendéen outbreaks. In 1792 he was returned by the département to the Convention
, and on 19 November he proposed the famous decree by which France offered protection to foreign nations in their struggle for liberty.
Although La Révellière-Lépeaux voted for the death of Louis XVI
, he was not in general agreement with the extremists. He was proscribed with the Girondins
in 1793, and remained in hiding until the revolt of 9 Thermidor (27 July 1794). After serving on the commission to prepare the initiation of the new constitution he became in July 1795 president of the Assembly, and shortly afterwards a member of the Committee of Public Safety
. His name stood first on the list of directors elected, and he became president of the Directory.
Of his colleagues he was in alliance with Jean-François Rewbell
and to a lesser degree with Barras, but the greatest of his fellow-directors, Lazare Carnot, was the object of his undying hatred. His policy was marked by a bitter hostility to the Christian
religion, which he proposed to supplant as a civilizing agent by theophilanthropy
, a new religion invented by the English deist David Williams (philosopher)
. The credit of the coup d'état
of 18 Fructidor (4 September 1797), by which the allied directors made themselves supreme, La Révellière-Lépeaux arrogated to himself in his Mémoires, which in this as in other matters must be read with caution. Compelled to resign by the Coup of 30 Prairial Year VII
(18 June 1799), he lived in retirement in the country, and took no further part in public affairs even after his return to Paris ten years later.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, member of 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...
He was born at Montaigu
Montaigu, Vendée
Montaigu is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.-External links:***...
(Vendée
Vendée
The Vendée is a department in the Pays-de-la-Loire region in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river which runs through the south-eastern part of the department.-History:...
), the son of J. B. de la Révellière. He adopted the name Lépeaux from a small property belonging to his family, and he was known locally as M. de Lépeaux. He studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
at Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
and 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...
, being called to the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
in 1775. A deputy to the Estates-General of 1789
Estates-General of 1789
The Estates-General of 1789 was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the nobility, the Church, and the common people...
, he returned at the close of the session to Angers, where with his school-friends J. B. Leclerc and Urbain-René Pilastre he sat on the council of Maine-et-Loire
Maine-et-Loire
Maine-et-Loire is a department in west-central France, in the Pays de la Loire region.- History :Maine-et-Loire is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. Originally it was called Mayenne-et-Loire, but its name was changed to Maine-et-Loire in 1791....
, and had to deal with the first Vendéen outbreaks. In 1792 he was returned by the département to the Convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
, and on 19 November he proposed the famous decree by which France offered protection to foreign nations in their struggle for liberty.
Although La Révellière-Lépeaux voted for the death of Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
, he was not in general agreement with the extremists. He was proscribed with the Girondins
Girondist
The Girondists were a political faction in France within the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention during the French Revolution...
in 1793, and remained in hiding until the revolt of 9 Thermidor (27 July 1794). After serving on the commission to prepare the initiation of the new constitution he became in July 1795 president of the Assembly, and shortly afterwards a member of the Committee of Public Safety
Committee of Public Safety
The Committee of Public Safety , created in April 1793 by the National Convention and then restructured in July 1793, formed the de facto executive government in France during the Reign of Terror , a stage of the French Revolution...
. His name stood first on the list of directors elected, and he became president of the Directory.
Of his colleagues he was in alliance with Jean-François Rewbell
Jean-François Rewbell
Jean-François Rewbell was a French lawyer, diplomat, and politician of the Revolution.-The revolutionary:...
and to a lesser degree with Barras, but the greatest of his fellow-directors, Lazare Carnot, was the object of his undying hatred. His policy was marked by a bitter hostility to the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
religion, which he proposed to supplant as a civilizing agent by theophilanthropy
Theophilanthropy
The Theophilanthropists were a deistic sect, formed in France during the latter part of the French Revolution.-Origins:...
, a new religion invented by the English deist David Williams (philosopher)
David Williams (philosopher)
David Williams , was a Welsh philosopher of the Enlightenment period. He was an ordained minister, theologian and political polemicist, and was the founder in 1788 of the Royal Literary Fund.-Upbringing:...
. The credit of the coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
of 18 Fructidor (4 September 1797), by which the allied directors made themselves supreme, La Révellière-Lépeaux arrogated to himself in his Mémoires, which in this as in other matters must be read with caution. Compelled to resign by the Coup of 30 Prairial Year VII
Coup of 30 Prairial Year VII
The Coup of 30 Prairial Year VII , also known as the Revenge of the Councils was a bloodless coup in France that occurred on 18 June 1799—30 Prairial Year VII by the French Republican Calendar...
(18 June 1799), he lived in retirement in the country, and took no further part in public affairs even after his return to Paris ten years later.