2H - The establishment of a Republic: problems and policies
The Republic founded in September 1792 had to replace royal authority while fighting a war and answering demands for bread and political participation. The argument about Louis XVI's fate exposed a deeper question: could the new Republic be secure while the former king remained alive?
Founding the Republic
The overthrow of the monarchy on 10 August 1792 had destroyed the basis of the Constitution of 1791. Louis XVI was imprisoned, and a newly elected National Convention had to govern France and write a republican constitution. French resistance at Valmy on 20 September helped dispel the immediate fear that an invading army would restore the king. On 21 September the Convention abolished monarchy; 22 September became the starting point of Year I of the Republic.
Republic
A political system without a hereditary monarch, in which public authority is claimed in the name of the citizens or nation. A republic can have broad or restricted participation; the name alone does not establish democracy.
The Convention had been elected through a wider male franchise than the property-based system of 1791, but low participation, intimidation and the disruption of war limited the representativeness of the result. Women could petition and demonstrate but could not vote. Thus the Republic's claim to popular sovereignty did not mean that everyone enjoyed equal political power.
No settled constitution initially controlled the relationship between the Convention, ministers, local authorities and the Paris Commune. The Convention combined law-making with supervision of government through committees. This gave deputies flexibility during an emergency, but also made disputes over who spoke for the nation unusually dangerous: Parisian activists could claim to defend the people while deputies claimed authority from a national election.
Factions and republican policy
The Convention's divisions concerned the form and defence of the Republic rather than a simple choice between republicanism and monarchy. The Girondins, associated with Brissot, favoured representative government and distrusted the political power of the Paris crowd. The Mountain, including Robespierre, Danton and Marat, was more willing to work with Parisian militants. The large uncommitted centre, the Plain, could give either grouping a majority. These were shifting alliances, not disciplined modern parties.
Most deputies defended private property and the achievements of 1789, but disagreed about economic intervention. Inflation in the paper assignat, pressure on food supplies and war expenditure sharpened conflict. Wage earners wanted affordable bread and action against hoarders; many property owners favoured freedom of trade and feared that price controls would undermine production. An economic problem therefore became a test of whose interests the Republic should protect.
The Convention reaffirmed the Republic's unity and rejected attempts to partition France. It also inherited reforms such as civil marriage and divorce, introduced in September 1792 as civil status passed from the Church to the state. These changes reduced religious control over daily life, while opposition to earlier church reforms persisted. Republican policies could enlarge individual freedom and still deepen religious division.
War initially encouraged ambition. Victory at Jemappes in November 1792 brought French troops into the Austrian Netherlands. The Convention offered assistance to peoples seeking liberty on 19 November, while its decree of 15 December promoted revolutionary changes in occupied territories. Such policies linked liberation to French military power and requisitions. They threatened neighbouring rulers and created expectations that were difficult to fulfil.
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