Jean-François Ducos (26 October 1765, in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

– 31 October 1793) was a French ''député'' for the Gironde to the Legislative Assembly then the

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...

Life

The son of a merchant in Bordeaux, he was sent to Nantes to learn his trade but there became interested in politics and philosophy, joining several such circles, in which he gained a reputation for patriotism. This allowed him to be elected as a député for Gironde to the Legislative Assembly then the Convention. There he sat with the

Girondin The Girondins ( , ), or Girondists, were members of a loosely knit political faction during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnard ...

s (but tended to favour the opinions of the Montagnards) and took up marked positions, such as in the issues surrounding

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

, the abolition of the monarchy and the question of the refractory priests. He was virulently opposed to La Fayette. Protection from

Marat Marat may refer to: People *Marat (given name) *Marat (surname) **Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793), French political theorist, physician and scientist Arts, entertainment, and media *''Marat/Sade'', a 1963 play by Peter Weiss * ''Marat/Sade'' (fil ...

meant he escaped a purge on 2 June 1793, but he fell under suspicion due to his protests against the arrests and summary 'disappearances'. He was mentioned in the report by

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on 3 October 1793 and condemned to death on 30 October. He was

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

d on 31 October alongside other Girondins, including his friend and brother-in-law Jean-Baptiste Boyer-Fonfrède. Noted for his caustic wit, Ducos reputedly remarked, while awaiting his turn at the guillotine, "The Convention has forgotten one thing: a decree on the unity and indivisibility of heads and bodies."

In popular culture

*Ducos, together with his friend Boyer-Fonfrède, appears in a supporting role in the historical mystery novel ''Palace of Justice'' (2010) by Susanne Alleyn. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ducos, Jean-Francois 1765 births 1793 deaths Politicians from Bordeaux Deputies to the French National Convention French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution