Philippe-François-Joseph Le Bas (4 November 1764,

Frévent Frévent () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming town situated in the valley of the Canche river, west of Arras, at the junction of the D946, the D939 and the D941 roads. ...

, Pas-de-Calais – 28 July 1794, Paris) was a French politician and revolutionary.

Biography

The son of a notary, intendant to the prince de Rache, avocat to the parliament of 1789, companion and collaborator of Saint-Just, Le Bas was elected député to the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...

for the Pas-de-Calais in 1792, sitting among the

Montagnards Montagnard (''of the mountain'' or ''mountain dweller'') may refer to: * Montagnard (French Revolution), members of The Mountain (''La Montagne''), a political group during the French Revolution (1790s) ** Montagnard (1848 revolution), members of t ...

. A discreet, cold, and loyal representative, he voted for King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

's death and against the sentence at his trial (i.e., against the people's appeal). Le Bas and Duquesnoy were delegated to the

armée du Nord The Army of the North or Armée du Nord is a name given to several historical units of the French Army. The first was one of the French Revolutionary Armies that fought with distinction against the First Coalition from 1792 to 1795. Others existe ...

in August 1793, and Le Bas proceeded with the arrest of generals Richardot and O'Moran for inability. A member of the

Committee of General Security The Committee of General Security () was a parliamentary committee of the French National Convention which acted as police agency during the French Revolution. Along with the Committee of Public Safety it oversaw the Reign of Terror. The Committe ...

, he was among those close to Robespierre, Couthon, and Saint-Just, who had a brief and discreet relation with his sister Henriette. He and Saint-Just were made the Convention's commissioners to the armies and set out on this mission to eastern France, where he reorganized the army after its reverses at

Wissembourg Wissembourg (; South Franconian: ''Weisseburch'' ; German: ''Weißenburg'' ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France. It is situated on the little river Lauter close to the border between France and Germany a ...

. Saint-Just and Le Bas were also later sent to reorganize the armée du Nord by the Committee of Public Safety in the face of an attempted return by Austrian forces after

Wattignies Wattignies (; nl, Wattenijs) is a commune in the Nord department of northern France. It lies in the south-western part of the Lille conurbation. It covers an area of , and as of 2019 its population was 15,075. Neighboring communes Lille, Fac ...

- it was this reorganisation that made possible the victory at

Fleurus Fleurus (; wa, Fleuru) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It has been the site of four major battles. The municipality consists of the following districts: Brye, Heppignies, Fleurus, Lambusart, ...

. Since 1 June he was appointed as the director of the "École de Mars", formerly known as the

École Militaire École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savo ...

Death

Faithful to Robespierre,

Augustin Robespierre Augustin Bon Joseph de Robespierre (21 January 1763 – 28 July 1794), known as Robespierre the Younger, was a French lawyer, politician and the younger brother of French Revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre. His political views were simil ...

and Le Bas demanded to share his fate. The five deputies were taken to the

, questioned and then escorted to different prisons; LeBas to the

Conciergerie The Conciergerie () ( en, Lodge) is a former courthouse and prison in Paris, France, located on the west of the Île de la Cité, below the Palais de Justice. It was originally part of the former royal palace, the Palais de la Cité, which als ...

. The mayor of the Commune ordered the janitors to refuse any member of the Convention. LeBas, as well as the others gathered in the Hôtel de Ville on 9 Thermidor. When the anti-Robespierristes under

Barras Barras may refer to: Places * Barras, Cumbria, England * Barras, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France * Barras, Piauí, Brazil * Duas Barras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil * Sete Barras, São Paulo, Brazil Other uses * Barras (surname) * Barras (market), ...

and Léonard Bourdon broke into the main room of the townhall (where Le Bas had taken refuge with Maximilien Robespierre, Augustin Robespierre, St-Just and Couthon) LeBas committed suicide by pistol in the early morning of 10 Thermidor.

Marriage and issue

He married Elisabeth Duplay, daughter of Maurice Duplay, Robespierre's landlord in Paris, and their son was Philippe Le Bas (1794–1860), who would be Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte's preceptor until 1827 then director of the library of the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

(from 1844 to 1860), a member of the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigr ...

(1838–60) and president of the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute ...

(from 1858).

Bibliography

* Stéfane-Pol, Elisabeth Duplay Le Bas, ''Autour de Robespierre: Le conventionnel Le Bas, d'après des documents inédits et les mémoires de sa veuve'', E. Flammarion, 1901, 340 pages {{DEFAULTSORT:Lebas, Philippe-Francois-Joseph 1762 births 1794 deaths People from Pas-de-Calais Suicides by firearm in France French politicians who committed suicide Deputies to the French National Convention Regicides of Louis XVI 18th-century French lawyers Jacobins People on the Committee of Public Safety Représentants en mission 18th-century suicides