The Indulgents, or Dantonists (French: ''Dantonistes'' dɑ̃n.tɔ̃.ists">Help:IPA/French">dɑ̃n.tɔ̃.ists was a

political faction A political faction is a group of people with a common political purpose, especially a subgroup of a political party that has interests or opinions different from the rest of the political party. Intragroup conflict between factions can lead to ...

formed around 1793 and centered around

Georges Danton Georges Jacques Danton (; ; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a leading figure of the French Revolution. A modest and unknown lawyer on the eve of the Revolution, Danton became a famous orator of the Cordeliers Club and was raised to gove ...

. During the French Revolution, what was previously referred to as

modérantisme During the French Revolution, modérantisme () or the faction des modérés (faction of the moderates) was the name the Montagnards gave to their relatively more moderate opponents, first the Girondins and then the Dantonists. Modérantisme was ...

changed after the fall of the

Girondins The Girondins (, ), also called Girondists, were a political group during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnards, they initiall ...

, when revolutionaries around Danton and

Camille Desmoulins Lucie-Simplice-Camille-Benoît Desmoulins (; 2 March 17605 April 1794) was a French journalist, politician and a prominent figure of the French Revolution. He is best known for playing an instrumental role in the events that led to the Stormin ...

also began to want to slow down the revolution in its violence. Another two famous Dantonists were Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles and

Fabre d'Églantine Philippe François Nazaire Fabre d'Églantine (; 28 July 1750 – 5 April 1794), commonly known as Fabre d'Églantine, was a French actor, dramatist, poet, and politician of the French Revolution. He is best known for having invented the names o ...

. Although not a Dantonist,

Jacques-Nicolas Billaud-Varenne Jacques-Nicolas Billaud-Varenne (; 23 April 1756 – 3 June 1819), also known as Jean Nicolas or by his nicknames, the Righteous Patriot or the Tiger, was a French lawyer and a major figure in the French Revolution. A close associate of Georges ...

maintained close relations with Danton. The name "Indulgents" was a derogatory term for

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 fer ...

. The movement emerged in the summer of 1793 as the moderate wing of the

Cordeliers The Society of the Friends of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( ), mainly known as Cordeliers Club ( ), was a Populism, populist List of political groups in the French Revolution, political club during the French Revolution from 1790 to 179 ...

. At the same time, a group around Hebert developed in the other direction ( Hebertists), which also met with the displeasure of the Jacobins, which also led to their destruction, two months before the Indulgents (Feb. '94 to Apr. '94). The Indulgents defended the

rule of law The essence of the rule of law is that all people and institutions within a Body politic, political body are subject to the same laws. This concept is sometimes stated simply as "no one is above the law" or "all are equal before the law". Acco ...

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

and

private property Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...

, and favoured

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

.https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/danton-the-gentle-giant-of-terror-by-david-lawday-1778005.html

References

Groups of the French Revolution {{France-hist-stub

See also

References