François-Noël Babeuf
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François-Noël Babeuf (; 23 November 1760 – 27 May 1797), also known as Gracchus Babeuf, was a French proto-communist,
revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...
, and
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
of the French Revolutionary period. His newspaper ''Le tribun du peuple'' (''The Tribune of the People'') was best known for its advocacy for the poor and calling for a popular revolt against the Directory, the government of France. He was a leading advocate for
democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
and the abolition of
private property Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...
. He made his own variant of
Jacobinism A Jacobin (; ) was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary political movement that was the most famous political club during the French Revolution (1789–1799). The club got its name from meeting at the Dominican rue Saint-Honoré ...
( Robespierrism) which is called ''Neo-Jacobinism''. Besides the influence of Robespierrism on his thought, due to his proto-communism, his political views were more aligned with the ideology of the Enragés. He angered the authorities who were clamping down hard on their radical enemies. In spite of the efforts of his
Jacobin The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential political cl ...
friends to save him, Babeuf was executed for his role in the Conspiracy of the Equals. The nickname "Gracchus" likened him to the
Gracchi The Gracchi brothers were two brothers who lived during the beginning of the late Roman Republic: Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus. They served in the Tribune of the plebs, plebeian tribunates of 133 BC and 122–121 BC, respec ...
brothers, who served as tribunes of the people in ancient Rome. Although the terms ''
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
'', ''
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
'' and ''
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
'' were not largely used in Babeuf's lifetime, they have all been used by later scholars to describe his ideas. ''Communism'' was first used in English by John Goodwyn Barmby in a conversation with those he described as the "disciples of Babeuf". He has been called "The First Revolutionary Communist." About his political philosophy, Babeuf wrote: "Society must be made to operate in such a way that it eradicates once and for all the desire of a man to become richer, or wiser, or more powerful than others." In the ''Manifesto of the Equals,'' a piece of writing commissioned by Babeuf, Sylvain Maréchal wrote that " heFrench Revolution asnothing but a precursor of another revolution, one that will be greater, more solemn, and which will be the last."


Early life

Babeuf was born at St. Nicaise near the town of Saint-Quentin. His father, Claude Babeuf, had deserted the French Royal Army in 1738 for the Austrian Imperial Army, reportedly rising to the rank of
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
. Amnestied in 1755, he returned to France, but soon sank into poverty, and had to work as a casual labourer to support his family. The hardships endured by Babeuf during his early years contributed to the development of his political opinions. His father gave him a basic education, but until the outbreak of the Revolution, he was a domestic servant, and from 1785 occupied the office of (commissary of land records), assisting the nobles and priests in the assertion of their feudal rights over the peasants. Accused of abandoning the feudal aristocracy, he would later say that "the sun of the French Revolution" had brought him to view his "mother, the feudal system" as a "hydra with a hundred heads."


Revolutionary activities

Babeuf was working for a land surveyor at Roye when the Revolution began. His father had died in 1780, and he now had to provide for his wife and two children, as well as for his mother, brothers and sisters. He was a prolific writer, and the signs of his future socialism are contained in a letter of 21 March 1787, one of a series mainly on literature and addressed to the secretary of the Academy of
Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...
. In 1789 he drew up the first article of the of the electors of the '' bailliage'' of Roye, demanding the abolition of feudal rights. From July to October 1789, he lived 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 ...
, superintending the publication of his first work: ("National
Cadastre A cadastre or cadaster ( ) is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in ...
or land register, Dedicated to the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
, Year 1789 and the First One of French Liberty"), which was written in 1789 and issued in 1790. The same year he published a pamphlet against feudal aids and the '' gabelle'' (salt tax), for which he was denounced and arrested, but provisionally released.


Political writings and imprisonment

In October, on his return to Roye, he founded the , a political journal that would have 40 issues. Babeuf used his journal to agitate for a progressive taxation system, and condemned the " census suffrage" planned for the 1791 elections to the Legislative Assembly in which citizen votes would be weighted by their social standing. Due to his political activities, he was arrested on 19 May 1790, but released in July before the Fête de la Fédération, thanks to pressure exerted nationally by
Jean-Paul Marat Jean-Paul Marat (, , ; born Jean-Paul Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the ''sans-culottes ...
. In November Babeuf was elected a member of the municipality of Roye, but was expelled. In March 1791, Babeuf was appointed commissioner to report on the national property () in the town, and in September 1792 was elected a member of the council-general of the of the Somme. A rivalry with the principal administrator and later deputy to the Convention, André Dumont, forced Babeuf to transfer to the post of administrator of the district of Montdidier. There he was accused of
fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...
for having altered a name in a deed of transfer of national lands. The error was probably due to negligence; but, distrusting the impartiality of the judges of the Somme, he fled to Paris, and on 23 August 1793 was sentenced '' in contumaciam'' to twenty years' imprisonment. Meanwhile, he had been appointed secretary to the relief committee () of the
Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...
. The judges of
Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
pursued him with a warrant for his arrest, which took place in
Brumaire Brumaire () was the second month in the French Republican calendar. The month was named after the French 'fog', which occurs frequently in France at that time of the year. Brumaire was the second month of the autumn quarter (''mois d'automne ...
of the year II (1793). The
Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...
quashed the sentence, through defect of form, and sent Babeuf for a new trial before the
Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...
tribunal, which acquitted him on 18 July 1794, only days before the Thermidorian Reaction. Babeuf returned to Paris, and on 3 September 1794 published the first issue of his ("Journal of the
Freedom of the Press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...
"), whose title was changed on 5 October 1794 to ("The Tribune of the People"). The execution of
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 ...
on 28 July 1794 had ended the
Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...
and begun the White Terror. Babeuf – now styling himself ''Gracchus'' Babeuf, after the martyred Roman reformers the Gracchi brothers – defended the fallen Terror politicians with the stated goal of achieving equality "in fact" and not only "by proclamation". However about the Terror, he said "I object to this particular aspect of their system." Babeuf attacked the leaders of the Thermidorian Reaction and, from a socialistic point of view, the economic outcome of the Revolution. He also argued for the inclusion of women into the political clubs. This was an attitude which had few supporters, even in the
Jacobin Club The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential List of polit ...
, and in October Babeuf was arrested and imprisoned at Arras. Here he was influenced by political prisoners, notably Philippe Buonarroti, Simon Duplay, and René-François Lebois, editor of the ("Journal of Equality") and afterwards of the ("The Friend of the People") papers of Leclerc which carried on the traditions of
Jean-Paul Marat Jean-Paul Marat (, , ; born Jean-Paul Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the ''sans-culottes ...
. Babeuf emerged from prison a confirmed advocate of
revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
and convinced that his project, fully proclaimed to the world in Issue 33 of his , could come about only through the restoration of the Constitution of 1793. That constitution had been ratified by a national referendum by universal male suffrage but never implemented. In February 1795, Babeuf was arrested again, and the was solemnly burnt in the by the , young men whose mission was to root out
Jacobin The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential political cl ...
ism. Babeuf might have faded into obscurity like other agitators, but for the appalling economic conditions caused by the fall in the value of .


Conspiracy of the Equals

The attempts of the Directory to deal with the economic crisis gave Babeuf his historical importance. The new government wanted to abolish the system which benefitted Paris at the expense of all France. To this goal, the government planned to abolish the sale of bread and meat at nominal prices, on 20 February 1796. The announcement caused widespread consternation. Workers and the large class of proletarians attracted to Paris by the system, as well as and government officials, whose incomes were paid in arbitrarily set by the government, felt threatened with starvation. The government yielded to the outcry, and tried to mitigate the problem by dividing people entitled to relief into classes, but this only increased alarm and discontent. The universal misery gave point to Babeuf's virulent attacks on the existing order and gained him a hearing. He gained a small circle of followers known as the ("Society of the Equals"), soon merged with the rump of the Jacobin Club, who met at the
Panthéon The Panthéon (, ), is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, Paris, Latin Quarter (Quartier latin), atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was built between 1758 ...
. In November 1795, police reported that Babeuf was openly preaching "insurrection, revolt and the Constitution of 1793". The group was influenced by Sylvain Maréchal, the author of ('' The Manifesto of the Equals'') and a sympathiser of Babeuf. For a time, the government left Babeuf alone but observed his activities. The Directory benefitted from the leftist agitation because it counteracted
royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
movements for overthrowing the Directory. Most workers, even of extreme views, were repelled by Babeuf's bloodthirstiness; and police reported that his agitation increased support for the government. The Jacobin Club refused to admit Babeuf and Lebois, on the ground that they were "throat-cutters" (). However, the economic crisis increased Babeuf's influence. After
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 ...
closed the club of the Panthéon on 27 February 1796, Babeuf increased his activity. In Ventôse and Germinal (late winter and early spring) under the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
, Babeuf published the paper "Scout of the People, or Defender of Twenty-Five Million Oppressed" (), which was passed from group to group secretly in the streets of Paris. At the same time, Issue 40 of Babeuf's caused immense sensation as it praised the authors of the September Massacres as "deserving well of their country" and declared that a more complete "2 September" was needed to destroy the government, which consisted of "starvers, bloodsuckers, tyrants, hangmen, rogues and mountebanks". Distress among all classes continued. In March, the Directory tried to replace by a new issue of and this raised hopes, but they were soon dashed. A rumour that national bankruptcy had been declared caused thousands of the lower class of workers to rally to Babeuf's ideas. On 4 April 1796, the government received a report that 500,000 Parisians needed relief. From 11 April, Paris was placarded with posters headed "Analysis of Babeuf's Teaching" () '', Tribun du Peuple'', which began with the sentence "Nature has given to every man the right to the enjoyment of an equal share in all property", and ended with a call to restore the Constitution of 1793.


Arrest and execution

Babeuf's song "Dying of Hunger, Dying of Cold" (), set to a popular tune, began to be sung in , with immense applause. Reports circulated that the disaffected troops of the French Revolutionary Army in the camp of Grenelle were ready to join an insurrection against the government. The had accumulated through its agents (notably ex-captain Georges Grisel, who was initiated into Babeuf’s society) evidence of a
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
(later called the Conspiracy of Equals) for an armed uprising fixed for 22 Floréal, year IV (11 May 1796), which involved Jacobins and leftists. The Directory thought it time to react. On 10 May Babeuf, who had taken the pseudonym ''Tissot'', was arrested. Many of his associates were gathered by the police on order from
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 ...
: among them were Augustin Alexandre Darthé and Philippe Buonarroti, the ex-members 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 ...
,
Robert Lindet Jean-Baptiste Robert Lindet (2 May 1746 in Bernay, Eure – 17 February 1825) was a French politician of the Revolutionary period. His brother, Robert Thomas Lindet, became a constitutional bishop and member of the National Convention Th ...
, Jean-Pierre-André Amar, Marc-Guillaume Alexis Vadier and Jean-Baptiste Drouet, famous as the postmaster of Sainte-Menehould who had arrested
Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
during the latter's
Flight to Varennes The Flight to Varennes (French: fuite de Varennes) during the night of 20–21 June 1791 was a significant event in the French Revolution in which the French royal family—comprising Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, the Dauphin Louis Charles, ...
, and now a member of the Directory's
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 government crackdown was extremely successful. The last issue of the appeared on 24 April, although René-François Lebois in the tried to incite the soldiers to revolt, and for a while there were rumours of a military uprising. Babeuf and his accomplices were to be tried at the newly created high court at Vendôme. When the prisoners were removed from Paris on 10 and 11 Fructidor (27 August and 28 August 1796), there were tentative efforts at a riot hoping to rescue the prisoners, but these were easily suppressed. On 7 September 1796, 500 or 600 Jacobins tried to rouse the soldiers at Grenelle but also failed. The trial was held at Vendôme beginning on 20 February 1797. Although several people were involved in the conspiracy, the government depicted Babeuf as the leader. On 7 Prairial (26 May 1797) Babeuf and Darthé were condemned to death; some of the prisoners, including Buonarroti, were deported; the rest, including Vadier and his fellow-conventionals, were acquitted. Drouet managed to escape, according to Paul Barras, with the connivance of the Directory. Babeuf and Darthé were
guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...
d the next day at Vendôme, 8 Prairial (27 May 1797), without appeal. Babeuf's body was transported and buried in a mass grave in the Vendôme's old cemetery of the Grand Faubourg, in
Loir-et-Cher Loir-et-Cher (, ) is a Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region of France. It is named after two rivers which run through it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher (river), Cher in its southern p ...
.


See also

* Grenelle camp affair * Neo-Babouvism * Pierre-Antoine Antonelle * Society of the Friends of Truth


Notes


References

* * Ernest Belfort Bax, ''Last Episodes of the French Revolution'', Haskell House Pub Ltd (1911; reprinted 1971), * Birchall, Ian H. ''The Spectre of Babeuf'', Palgrave Macmillan (1997), hardcover, 204 pages, or * Philippe Buonarroti, translated by James Bronterre O'Brien, ''Babeuf's Conspiracy for Equality'', Hetherington (1836; first English edition); Kelly (1965) hardcover, 454 pages
original text
on books.google.com) * Furet, Francois, and Mona Ozouf, eds. ''A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution'' (1989) pp 179–85 * Rose, R. B. ''Gracchus Babeuf: The First Revolutionary Communist'', Stanford University Press (1978), hardcover, or Routledge (1978), hardcover, * Soule, George. ''Ideas of the Great Economists'', New York: Viking press. 1953. ; Attribution *


External links

*

documents on Marxists.org.
''Gracchus Babeuf and the Conspiracy of the Equals''
by Belfort Bax. *

review of Bax's book. {{DEFAULTSORT:Babeuf, Francois-Noel 1760 births 1797 deaths People from Saint-Quentin, Aisne Proto-socialists Jacobins 18th-century French journalists 18th-century French newspaper publishers (people) Newspaper publishers (people) of the French Revolution French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution French archivists