The revolutionary sections of Paris were subdivisions of Paris during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. They first arose in 1790 and were suppressed in 1795.

History

At the time of the Revolution, Paris measured 3440 hectares, compared to the 7800 hectares of today. It was bounded to the west by the

place de l'Étoile Place Charles de Gaulle (), historically known as the Place de l'Étoile (), is a large road junction in Paris, France, the meeting point of twelve straight avenues (hence its historic name, which translates as "Square of the Star") including t ...

, to the east by the cimetière du Père-Lachaise, to the north by

place de Clichy The Place de Clichy, also known as "Place Clichy", is situated in the northwestern quadrant of Paris. It is formed by the intersection of the Boulevard de Clichy, the Avenue Clichy, the Rue Clichy, the Boulevard des Batignolles, and the Rue d ...

, and to the south by the

cimetière du Montparnasse Montparnasse Cemetery (french: link=no, Cimetière du Montparnasse) is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery ...

. Under the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

, the city had been divided into 21 'quartiers'. In 1789, with a view to elections to the Estates-General, it was instead divided provisionally into 60 districts. By a decree of 21 May 1790, sanctioned by King

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 ...

on 27 June, the National Constituent Assembly created 48 'sections' ('section' then meaning a territorial and administrative division) to replace the 60 districts. Each section was made up of a civil committee, a revolutionary committee and an armed force. After the

Thermidorian Reaction The Thermidorian Reaction (french: Réaction thermidorienne or ''Convention thermidorienne'', "Thermidorian Convention") is the common term, in the historiography of the French Revolution, for the period between the ousting of Maximilien Robespie ...

on 27 July 1794, the sections still played an important role in suppressing the popular uprisings. In 1795, however, they were suppressed by the

French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and r ...

, which renamed the areas covered by sections as divisions, then quartiers.

Composition

Civil committee

Each section was headed by a civil committee of 16 members (elected by active citizens in the area covered by the section), the juges de paix (judges) and members intended to act as intermediaries between their section and the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

. From 1792 onwards, the sections occupied themselves permanently with political questions. On 25 July 1792, the Parisians decided to abolish the distinction between active citizens and passive citizens. As a result, the sections' assemblies sat permanently and became the political organ of the

sans-culottes The (, 'without breeches') were the common people of the lower classes in late 18th-century France, a great many of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution in response to their poor quality of life under the . The ...

. After the

Brunswick Manifesto The Brunswick Manifesto was a proclamation issued by Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, commander of the Allied Army (principally Austrian and Prussian), on 25 July 1792 to the population of Paris, France during the War of the First ...

they demanded the deposition of the king, by 47 sections to 48. Michel Winock, ''L’échec au Roi, 1791–1792'', Paris, Olivier Orban, 1991, , p 265 On 9 August 1792 each section delegated commissioners elected by the active and passive citizens, as a replacement for the 'municipalité' of Paris. There were 52 of these commissioners in total (including Jacques-René Hébert, Pierre-Gaspard Chaumette and

François-Xavier Audouin François-Xavier Audouin (18 April 1765– 23 July 1837), commonly called Xavier Audouin, was a French clergyman and politician during the French Revolution. He was a member of the Jacobin Club, in which he frequently made speeches. Before the G ...

) and they triggered the events of 10 August 1792, putting an end to the monarchy and giving rise to the 'Revolutionary Commune' of Paris.

Revolutionary committee

Set up by a law of 21 March 1793, the initial task of the sections' revolutionary committees was surveillance on foreigners without interfering in the lives of French citizens. Their activities towards that end (often going beyond the limits the law of 21 March had placed on them) were enabled by the

Law of Suspects :''Note: This decree should not be confused with the Law of General Security (french: Loi de sûreté générale), also known as the "Law of Suspects," adopted by Napoleon III in 1858 that allowed punishment for any prison action, and permitted the ...

of 17 September 1793. They also had the power to make lists and issue arrest warrants. They also had the right to deliver citizenship certificates, all in establishing a direct correspondence with the

Committee of General Security The Committee of General Security () was a parliamentary committee of the French National Convention which acted as police agency during the French Revolution. Along with the Committee of Public Safety it oversaw the Reign of Terror. The Committe ...

Armed force

Paris's armed force was headed by a commander in chief and divided into 6 legions, each legion made up of troops from eight sections. The troops of each section had their own commander in chief, second in command and adjutant-major. The companies were made up of 120 to 130 men, being bigger or smaller according to their section's population. A company was commanded by a captain, a lieutenant and two 'sous-lieutenants'. Each section also had a company of artillery (60 men and 2 cannon each). In the Thermidorian Reaction of 27 July 1794, during the fall of

Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

, 18 companies had been sent to the front by order of

Lazare Carnot Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Count Carnot (; 13 May 1753 – 2 August 1823) was a French mathematician, physicist and politician. He was known as the "Organizer of Victory" in the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. Education and early ...

. Of the 30 remaining companies, three were used to keep order – at 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 National ...

, the Arsenal, and the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. Seventeen remaining companies replied to the Commune's appeal during the night of 27–28 July 1794.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Revolutionary Sections Of Paris History of Paris * * 1790 establishments in France 1795 disestablishments 1790 events of the French Revolution 1791 events of the French Revolution 1792 events of the French Revolution 1793 events of the French Revolution 1794 events of the French Revolution 1795 events of the French Revolution