Let us examine a speech by Robespierre. Let us examine. for example, the speech he made on 11 Germinal Year II (31 March 1794). To tell the truth, it is no accident that I should have chosen this speech. The circumstances were exceptional. On that day, it seems, the Convention almost frustrated a bid for power by the Committee of Public Safety.
Had it done so, revolutionary politics might have changed abruptly. 'Almost frustrated . . . ? The decisive factor was of course Robespierre's intervention. Let us briefly recall the facts: Danton had been arrested the previous night, together with Camille Desmoulins, Lacroix and Philippeau. For less than a year, there had been an increase in the rate of major purges. The faU of the leaders of the Gironde had been followed in turn by the faU of the Enrages, the Hebertistes and then the old leaders of the Paris Commune. The victims were aU distinguished, but none of them had enjoyed Danton's prestige. Not one of them had embodied the spirit of the Revolution to the same extent, and, unlike Camille, none of them could have claimed to be the father of the Republic. This time, Robespierre and the Committees were striking very close to home. The launching of an offensive against what was termed the Indulgent faction had of course been announced,
notably to the Jacobins, but the news of the arrests. which had been ordered without the knowledge of the Convention. still came as a surprise. The bid for power was also a coup de theatre; it provided a sign that the Terror had reached a paroxysm.