Inside the Terror, 1793 to 1794

The Terror was not just the guillotine. It was a whole system of emergency laws, mass conscription and attacks on religion, and in the end it destroyed its own leaders.

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Machinery of the Terror

The Revolutionary Tribunal (set up in March 1793) tried political crimes in Paris.
The levée en masse (August 1793) conscripted unmarried men aged 18 to 25 and put the whole nation on a war footing.
The Law of Suspects (September 1793) allowed the arrest of anyone whose words or connections made them look like an enemy of the Revolution.
The Committee of Public Safety, with Robespierre as its best-known member, ran the government; representatives on mission enforced its orders in the provinces.

Religion and the Revolution

De-Christianisation: churches were closed or turned into 'Temples of Reason', and many priests were forced to give up their posts.
A Revolutionary calendar replaced the Christian one, counting Year I from 22 September 1792, when the Republic was declared.
Robespierre disliked atheism and launched the Cult of the Supreme Being, celebrated at a festival on 8 June 1794.

The Great Terror and Thermidor

Robespierre turned on rivals: Hébert and his followers were executed in March 1794 and Danton in April 1794.
The Law of 22 Prairial (June 1794) removed suspects' right to a defence, and executions in Paris rose sharply.
About 17,000 people were officially sentenced to death during the Terror, and many more died in prison or in the fighting in the Vendée.
Fearing they would be next, members of the Convention had Robespierre arrested on 9 Thermidor (27 July 1794); he was guillotined the next day.
Worked example

Explain why Robespierre fell in July 1794.

  1. The military crisis was easing after French victories, so many felt the Terror was no longer needed.
  2. The Law of 22 Prairial and the execution of Danton made deputies fear for their own lives.
  3. So members of the Convention united against him on 9 Thermidor and had him arrested.

Answer: Victories made emergency rule seem unnecessary, and fear of being the next victim united the Convention against him.

Key idea

Terror machinery: Revolutionary Tribunal (March 1793), levée en masse (August 1793), Law of Suspects (September 1793), Committee of Public Safety. De-Christianisation and a new calendar; Robespierre's Cult of the Supreme Being (June 1794). Law of 22 Prairial (June 1794) began the Great Terror. About 17,000 official death sentences. Robespierre fell on 9 Thermidor (27 July 1794).

Key words
Conscription
Compulsory military service. In Britain it began in 1916 and again in 1939.
Committee of Public Safety
The French revolutionary committee that ran the Terror in 1793 to 94.

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  1. Who could be arrested under the Law of Suspects?

    1. Anyone thought to be an enemy of the Revolution, on vague grounds
    2. Only convicted criminals
    3. Only nobles
    4. Only foreign spies
    Show the answer

    Answer: Anyone thought to be an enemy of the Revolution, on vague grounds

    Relatives of émigrés and many others were arrested.

  2. When was the levée en masse decreed?

    1. July 1789
    2. 1799
    3. 1815
    4. August 1793
    Show the answer

    Answer: August 1793

    It was a response to foreign invasion.

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Checked by the GCSE-ready editorial team, 17 October 2026. Last updated 2 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.

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