Jean-Antoine-Joseph de Bry, also spelled Debry (; 25 November 1760 – 6 January 1834), was a French politician of the French Revolution. He served as President of 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 ...

(21 March 1793 – 4 April 1793), and is famous for the

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...

'' La patrie est en danger'' (The Fatherland is in danger) he proposed.

Early life

Debry was born on 25 November 1760 in Vervins, in the province of

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

. He became a lawyer at the

Parlement of Paris The ''Parlement'' of Paris () was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. Parlements were judicial, rather than legislative, bodies and were composed of magistrates. Though not representative bodies in the p ...

in January 1784, and was appointed administrator of the royal jurisdictions in Vervins in March 1786. In the following years, Debry published multiple writings supporting the ideas of the Enlightenment.

Revolution

With the Revolution he was appointed administrator of the department of

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...

in June 1790. He was elected in September 1791 as deputy of the Legislative Assembly for Aisne. Debry was known as an ardent revolutionary, and in January 1792 successfully proposed a decree that altered the line of succession of the then constitutional French monarchy, by making Louis Stanislas (who eventually reigned as

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

on the Restoration) ineligible to the French throne due to his

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

from France. Debry was again elected in September 1792, as a representative of Aisne in the new

. In the following year he voted for the death sentence of King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

, defended more severe punishments against ''emigrés'', and proposed the transport of

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher ('' philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects ...

's remains to the

Panthéon The Panthéon (, ), is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, Paris, Latin Quarter (Quartier latin), atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was built between 1758 ...

in Paris, which was achieved in October 1794. Debry protested against the arrest of the Girondins following the 31 May insurrection, but then kept a low profile until the fall of Robespierre and the end of the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

. He served in the

Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred () was the lower house of the legislature of the French First Republic under the Constitution of the Year III. It operated from 31 October 1795 to 9 November 1799 during the French Directory, Directory () period of t ...

for the entire duration of the Directory regime and as its president between December 1796 and January 1797, seating with the

Thermidorians The Thermidorians (, named after Thermidor, the month of Thermidor) were a political group during the First French Republic. They formed in 1794 and dominated the last year of the National Convention, which during this phase became known as the T ...

as a dedicated supporter of the

Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

Diplomatic mission and assassination attempt

In 1798, Debry was chosen as one of the three delegates of the French Republic sent to the Congress of Rastatt, with the intention of negotiating a peace treaty with the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. When leaving Rastatt on 28 April 1799, the three were assaulted by a group of

hussars A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

. The other French envoys, Roberjot and Bonnier, were killed on the spot, while Debry received thirteen

sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

wounds but survived, having managed to escape and hurriedly seek asylum with a Prussian government official. Using an arm sling, Debry was acclaimed on his return to the Council of Five Hundred on 20 May 1799, and on the same day was elected for another term as its president.

Consulat, Empire and later life

A supporter of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

Bonaparte in his coup of

18 Brumaire The Coup of 18 Brumaire () brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of the French First Republic. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and would soon lead to the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the ...

, Debry became a member of the

Tribunat The was one of the four assemblies set up in France by the Constitution of Year VIII (the other three were the Council of State (France), Council of State, the and the ). It was set up officially on 1 January 1800 at the same time as the . Its ...

in December 1799 following its creation by the Constitution of the Year VIII. From then on he held local administration offices, being appointed in April 1801 ''

préfet A prefect (, plural , both ) in France is the State's representative in a department or region. Regional prefects are ''ex officio'' the departmental prefects of the regional prefecture. Prefects are tasked with upholding the law in the departme ...

'' of the department of

Doubs Doubs (, ; ; ) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.First Bourbon Restoration in 1814. He was awarded the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1803, and was made Knight (1808) and later Baron of the

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

(1809). Despite a friendly approach towards the restored Bourbons, Debry accepted

's appointment to the prefecture of

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...

during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

, on 22 March 1815. Following the emperor's second abdication he was dismissed from office, and in January 1816 forced to leave the country by a law that exiled the regicides of Louis XVI. He retired to

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

, in the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed from 1815 to 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories t ...

. Debry was only allowed to return with the definitive fall of the Bourbons in 1830, and as a former prefect was granted a pension by the new government of Louis Philippe of France. He died in Paris on 6 January 1834.

Works

*''Essai sur l'éducation nationale'' (1790) *''Eloge de Mirabeau'' (1790) *''Opinion sur la Constitution de 1793'' *''Catéchisme des élections'' (1797)

References

External links

* Jean-Louis Laneuville'
Portrait of Jean de Bry, ca 1793. Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 77.54.1
{{DEFAULTSORT:Debry, Jean 1760 births 1834 deaths People from Aisne 18th-century French lawyers Members of the Legislative Assembly (France) Presidents of the National Convention Regicides of Louis XVI People on the Committee of Public Safety Members of the Council of Five Hundred Exiled French politicians Recipients of the Legion of Honour