Jean-Baptiste Edmond Fleuriot-Lescot (1761 – 28 July 1794), also known as Lescot-Fleuriot, was a Belgian architect, sculptor, and revolutionary politician. He briefly served as

Mayor of Paris The mayor of Paris (, ) is the Chief executive officer, chief executive of Paris, the capital and largest city in France. The officeholder is responsible for the administration and management of the city, submits proposals and recommendations to ...

in 1794 during the most radical phase of the French Revolution, and was executed by guillotine alongside

Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre ferv ...

and his allies on 9 Thermidor Year II.

Biography

Early life and career

Fleuriot-Lescot was born in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

in 1761, the son of Nicolas Fleuriot-Lescot, an officer of the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

, and Erneste Ebherlinck. He worked as an architect and sculptor, and served the Duke of La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, directing peat operations in Liancourt (Oise) from 1785. He later settled in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he married Françoise Madeleine Belloir-Dutally in 1788. In 1789, he participated in the

Brabant Revolution The Brabant Revolution or Brabantine Revolution (, ), sometimes referred to as the Belgian Revolution of 1789–1790 in older writing, was an armed revolution, insurrection that occurred in the Austrian Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) between O ...

against the reforms of

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

, before taking refuge in France.

Revolutionary activity

Once in Paris, Fleuriot-Lescot became active in revolutionary politics. He joined the radical

Jacobins The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential List of polit ...

and allied himself with

. He was appointed commissioner of public works and worked under architect

Bernard Poyet Bernard Poyet (3 May 1742 – 6 December 1824) was a French architect, best known for his work on the Palais Bourbon in Paris. Biography A native of Dijon, Poyet was a student of Charles de Wailly who, in 1766, charged him with supervising the ...

for the revolutionary

Commune of Paris The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended Par ...

. A staunch supporter of the

sans-culottes The (; ) were the working class, common people of the social class in France, lower classes in late 18th-century history of France, France, a great many of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution in response to their ...

, he participated in key demonstrations, including the

Champ de Mars Champ, CHAMP or The Champ may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Champ (cartoon character), an animated dog introduced in 1960 * The Champ, played on radio and created by Jake Edwards (radio personality), Jake Edwards * Champ ...

and the

Insurrection of 10 August 1792 The insurrection of 10 August 1792 was a defining event of the French Revolution, when armed revolutionaries in Paris, increasingly in conflict with the French monarchy, stormed the Tuileries Palace. The conflict led France to abolish the mona ...

. In March 1793, he was appointed substitute to the public prosecutor of the

Revolutionary Tribunal The Revolutionary Tribunal (; unofficially Popular Tribunal) was a court instituted by the National Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders. In October 1793, it became one of the most powerful engines of ...

Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville Antoine Quentin Fouquier de Tinville (, 10 June 17467 May 1795), also called Fouquier-Tinville and nicknamed posthumously the Provider of the Guillotine was a French lawyer and accusateur public of the Revolutionary Tribunal during the French R ...

Mayor of Paris

On 10 May 1794 (21 Floréal Year II), Fleuriot-Lescot was appointed

, replacing

Jean-Nicolas Pache Jean-Nicolas Pache (; 5 May 1746 – 18 November 1823) was a French politician, a Jacobin who served as Minister of War from October 1792 and Mayor of Paris from February 1793 to May 1794. Biography Pache was born in Verdun, but grew up in Pa ...

, who had lost favor due to his association with the

Hébertists The Hébertists (, ), or Exaggerators (), were a radical revolutionary political group associated with the populist journalist Jacques Hébert, a member of the Cordeliers club. They came to power during the Reign of Terror and played a significa ...

. He served for just over two months.

9 Thermidor and execution

During the coup of

9 Thermidor Maximilien Robespierre addressed the National Convention on 26 July 1794, was arrested the next day, and executed on 28 July. In his speech on 26 July, Robespierre spoke of the existence of internal enemies, conspirators, and calumniators, with ...

(27 July 1794), Fleuriot-Lescot convened the Commune in emergency session alongside

François Hanriot François Hanriot (; 2 December 1759 – 28 July 1794) was a French Sans-culotte leader, street orator, and commander of the National Guard during the French Revolution. He played a vital role in the Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793 and ...

and Claude-François de Payan. They issued a proclamation urging Parisians to rise in defense of "their true friends." The uprising collapsed quickly. That evening, the

National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...

declared the mayor and the Commune's leadership outlaws. At 2 a.m. on 10 Thermidor, Fleuriot-Lescot was arrested with other officials at the Hôtel de Ville by forces loyal to the Convention under

Léonard Bourdon Louis Jean Joseph Léonard Bourdon de la Cronière (6 November 1754, Alençon – 29 May 1807, Breslau) was a French politician of the French Revolution. He was president of the National Constituent Assembly and substitute for the procure ...

. He was tried the same day by the

, where Gilbert Lieudon prosecuted in place of Fouquier-Tinville, who recused himself due to personal ties. Fleuriot-Lescot was sentenced to death and executed with Robespierre,

Louis Antoine de Saint-Just Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just (; 25 August 176710 Thermidor, Year II 8 July 1794, sometimes nicknamed the Archangel of Terror, was a French revolutionary, political philosopher, member and president of the National Convention, French ...

Georges Couthon Georges Auguste Couthon (, 22 December 1755 – 28 July 1794) was a French politician and lawyer known for his service as a deputy in the Legislative Assembly during the French Revolution. Couthon was elected to the Committee of Public Safety o ...

, and others.

Publications

* ''Réflexions générales sur le système employé par les intrigants, depuis 1789, pour entraver la marche de la liberté et sur les moyens de la faire triompher de tous ses ennemis'' (1792)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleuriot-Lescot, Jean-Baptiste 1761 births 1794 deaths Architects from Brussels Architects from the Austrian Netherlands Belgian male sculptors Belgian architects 18th-century sculptors from the Holy Roman Empire Mayors of Paris 18th-century mayors of places in France People from Brussels Jacobins People executed by guillotine during the French Revolution Executed Belgian people Executed politicians