The Thermidorians (, named after the month of Thermidor) were a

political group A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who a ...

during the

First French Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted u ...

. They formed in 1794 and dominated the last year 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 ...

, which during this phase became known as the Thermidorian Convention (, and the Directory government until the rise of

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 ...

to power in 1799.

History

The group was named for the

Thermidorian Reaction In the historiography of the French Revolution, the Thermidorian Reaction ( or ''Convention thermidorienne'', "Thermidorian Convention") is the common term for the period between the ousting of Maximilien Robespierre on 9 Thermidor II, or 27 J ...

in 1794, when its members—led by Paul Barras, Jean-Lambert Tallien and

Joseph Fouché Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante, 1st Comte Fouché (; 21 May 1759 – 26 December 1820) was a French statesman, revolutionary, and Minister of Police under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, who later became a subordinate of Emperor Napoleon. H ...

— ousted

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

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 ...

, who were

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

with their supporters on 27 July 1794. The deputies that supported the Reaction were the following: *

Moderates Moderate is an ideological category which entails Centrism, centrist views on a liberal-conservative spectrum. It may also designate a rejection of radical politics, radical or extremism, extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religi ...

(members of The Marsh) like

Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès (3 May 174820 June 1836), usually known as the Abbé Sieyès (; ), was a French Catholic priest, ''abbé'', and political writer who was a leading political theorist of the French Revolution (1789–1799); he also held off ...

, Jean de Cambacérès and Boissy d'Anglas * Montagnards opposite to Robespierre like Tallien and Jean-Baptiste Carrier * Members of the

Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety () was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. Supplementing the Committee of General D ...

like Barras, Bertrand Barère,

Lazare Carnot Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Comte Carnot (; 13 May 1753 – 2 August 1823) was a French mathematician, physicist, military officer, politician and a leading member of the Committee of Public Safety during the French Revolution. His military refor ...

, Marc Vadier, Jean Amar and Collot d'Herbois Over the following days, the Thermidorians took over the majority in the

. In 1795 a new constitution was introduced, with the National Convention disestablished and the Directory becoming the new government. Like the constitution, the Thermidorians emphasised

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

values: conservative on social themes and liberal on economic themes. Besides that they were a split from the Montagnards ideological they were closer to 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 ...

, Monarchiens, Feuillants Club and the

Club de Clichy The Clichy Club () was a Political faction, political group active during the French Revolution from 1794 to 1797. History During the French Revolution, the Clichy Club formed in 1794 following the fall of Maximilien Robespierre, 9 Thermidor an ...

which embraced like the Thermidorians liberal economic themes and

conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...

in social themes. After the election of 1795, the Thermidorians obtained the majority 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 ...

, the new

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

. 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 ...

, the group created a headquarters in the Hôtel de Noailles and Paul Barras became its leader. The Directory lasted until 1799, when the

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 Fr ...

brought

to power; the Directory was replaced with a

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

with Bonaparte as

First Consul The Consulate () was the top-level government of the First French Republic from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799 until the start of the French Empire on 18 May 1804. During this period, Napoleon Bonap ...

. After the coup, the various parliamentary forces including the Thermidorians were disestablished.

Notable members

* Paul Barras *

* Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès * Jean-Lambert Tallien *

Pierre-Louis Bentabole Pierre Louis Bentabole (or Bentabolle) was a French French Revolution, revolutionary and statesman, born in Landau Haut Rhin on 4 June 1756 and died in Paris on 22 April 1798. As a lawyer, he presided and practiced in the districts Hagenau and Sav ...

* Louis-Marie Stanislas Fréron * Thérésa Tallien * Pierre Claude François Daunou *

Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux (24 August 1753 – 24 March 1824) was a deputy to the National Convention during the French Revolution. He later served as a prominent leader of the French Directory. Life He was born at Montaigu (Vend� ...

* Philippe-Antoine Merlin de Douai *

Roger Ducos Pierre Roger Ducos (25 July 174716 March 1816), better known as Roger Ducos, was a French political figure during the French Revolution, Revolution and First French Empire, First Empire, a member of the National Convention, and of the French Dir ...

Jean-François Rewbell Jean-François Reubell () or Rewbell (6 October 1747 – 24 November 1807) was a French lawyer, diplomat, and politician of the Revolution. The revolutionary Born at Colmar (now in the ''département'' of Haut-Rhin), he became president of the l ...

Jean-Marie Collot d'Herbois Jean-Marie Collot d'Herbois (; 19 June 1749 – 8 June 1796) was a French actor, dramatist, essayist, and revolutionary. He was a member of the Committee of Public Safety during the Reign of Terror and, while he saved Madame Tussaud from the ...

* Jacques-Nicolas Billaud-Varenne * Marc-Guillaume Alexis Vadier

Electoral results

References

{{Authority control 1794 establishments in France 1799 disestablishments in France Political parties established in 1794 Political parties disestablished in 1799 Groups of the French Revolution Classical liberal parties Conservative liberal parties Centrist parties in France Republicanism in France