François Aubry (; 12 December 1747 – 17 July 1798) was a French soldier who became a member 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 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

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 ...

during the French Revolution. At first a moderate supporter of the revolution, he moved towards a monarchical position and worked to overthrow the Directory. When the Directory seized power, he was arrested and deported to

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Caye ...

. He escaped, but died in

Dutch Guiana Dutch Guiana may refer to: * Dutch colonisation of the Guianas, the coastal region between the Orinoco and Amazon rivers in South America * Surinam (Dutch colony), commonly called "Dutch Guiana" after the loss of other large colonies in the area ...

soon after.

Early years

François Aubry was born in Paris on 12 December 1747. He joined the army, and in 1789 was a captain of artillery. He declared his support for the ideas of the revolution. He was appointed mayor of Nîmes in 1790.

Girondin member

On 6 September 1792 he was elected a member of the National Convention for the department of

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;siege of Toulon The siege of Toulon (29 August – 19 December 1793) was a military engagement that took place during the Federalist revolts and the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was undertaken by forces of the French Re ...

he fell out with

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 ...

, since he disagreed with his plan of attack. On returning to the convention, he attended the trial of King

Louis XVI of France 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- ...

. He declared that Louis was guilty of conspiracy against freedom and attacks against the general security of the State, and voted in favor of the death penalty. On 3 August 1793 Aubry decreed that in all towns all the bells except one would be available to the Minister of War. Aubry signed a protest against the

Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793 The insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793 (, ) during the French Revolution started after the Paris commune demanded that 22 Girondin deputies and members of the Commission of Twelve be brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal. Jean-Paul Ma ...

, and was arrested and detained until

9 Thermidor Maximilien Robespierre addressed the National Convention on 26 July 1794, was arrested the next day, and executed on 28 July. In his speech on 26 July, Robespierre spoke of the existence of internal enemies, conspirators, and calumniators, with ...

(27 July 1794).

Later career

After 9 Thermidor (27 July 1794), Aubry returned to the Convention and succeeded Carnot in the

Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety () was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. Supplementing the Committee of General D ...

for military affairs. In this position he dismissed many officers accused of terrorism, including Massena and Bonaparte. He took a very active part in suppressing the

revolt of 1 Prairial Year III The Revolt of 1 Prairial Year III (20 May 1795) was the final major popular uprising of the French Revolution. Sans-culottes from eastern Paris marched on the National Convention demanding "''du pain et la Constitution de l’An I''" — bread ...

(20 May 1795). Accused on that basis at the meeting of 14 Thermidor Year III (1 August 1795), he left the Committee and allied himself closely with the Clichy monarchical club, where he dominated the counter-revolutionary movement and became the most influential member. Aubry was among the members of the Convention who entered the

on 23 Vendémiaire year IV (15 October 1795). An arrest warrant was issued against him for his unconstitutional attitude on 13 Vendémiaire (5 October 1795), but was not executed. He supported

Armand-Gaston Camus Armand-Gaston Camus (2 April 17402 November 1804), French revolutionist, was a successful lawyer and advocate before the French Revolution. He was the son of Pierre Camus, a lawyer in the Parlement of Paris. Camus is considered the founder of ...

's proposed general amnesty. He opposed the law which declared nobles and relatives of emigrants ineligible for public office, and actively worked to overthrow the Directory. After the

coup of 18 Fructidor The Coup of 18 Fructidor, Year V (4 September 1797 in the French Republican Calendar), was a seizure of power in France by members of the French Directory, Directory, then forming the government of the First French Republic, with support from th ...

(4 September 1797) he was arrested and transported to

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the G ...

, from where he was shipped to

. He escaped from Cayenne in a small boat with

Jean-Charles Pichegru Jean-Charles Pichegru (; 16 February 1761 – 5 April 1804) was a French general of the Revolutionary Wars. Under his command, French troops overran Belgium and the Netherlands before fighting on the Rhine front. His royalist positions led to h ...

and others, and landed in

Demerara Demerara (; , ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state from 1792 unti ...

, Dutch Guiana. He died there soon after on 17 July 1798.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:AUBRY, Francois 1747 births 1798 deaths French Army officers Politicians from Paris Girondins People on the Committee of Public Safety Deputies to the French National Convention Members of the Council of Five Hundred Members of Parliament for Gard Regicides of Louis XVI French exiles