Provost of Paris

History

When the French Revolution began after the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, the city insurgents murdered the last Provost of Paris (Provost of the Merchants), Jacques de Flesselles. Because the Provost's office was abolished as one of the first moves with the dissolution of the Ancien Régime, the insurgents established a revolutionary government called the "Commune of Paris", initially led by Jean Sylvain Bailly, the first titled "Mayor of Paris". The mayor's office was very important during the critical phases of the Revolution, and during Robespierre's Reign of Terror (1793–1794) it was decisive in the discovery and execution of all suspected counter-revolutionaries. In July 1794, after the 9th Thermidor, the coup d'état that deposed and executed Robespierre and his cronies, the office of Mayor was abolished since it was perceived to be too powerful.