Enragés
|
Enraged Ones
Enragés |
|
|---|---|
| Leaders |
Jean Varlet Claire Lacombe |
| Founded | 1792 |
| Dissolved | 1794 |
| Split from | Jacobin Club |
| Ideology |
Republicanism Direct democracy Proto-socialism Radicalism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| Colours | Red |
The Enraged Ones (French: Les Enragés) were a small number of firebrands known for defending the lower class and expressing the demands of the radical sans-culottes during the French Revolution. They played an active role in the May 31-June 2, 1793 Paris uprisings that forced the expulsion of the Girondins from the National Convention, allowing the Montagnards to assume full control.
The Enragés became associated with this term for their angry rhetoric appealing to the Convention to take more measures that would benefit the poor. Jacques Roux, Jean Varlet, Théophile Leclerc, and Claire Lacombe, the primary leaders of the Enragés, were strident critics of the Convention for failing to carry out the promises of the Revolution.
The Enragés were not a unified party. Rather, the individual figureheads that comprised the group identified as the Enragés worked for their own objectives, and evidence of cooperation is inconclusive. As individual political personalities, the Enragés were cynical to the point of anarchism, suspicious of most political organizations and individuals, and they resisted ties to others. The leaders did not see themselves as part of a shared movement, and Roux even called for Varlet’s arrest. The notion of the Enragés as a cohesive group was perpetuated by the Jacobins as they lumped their critics Leclerc and Roux into one group.
In 1793, Jacques Roux delivered a speech at the National Convention known as the “Manifesto of the Enragés” that represents the essential demands of the group. He asserted that freedom and equality were thus far “vain phantoms” because the rich had profited from the Revolution at the expense of the poor. To remedy this, he proposed measures for price controls, arguing “Those goods necessary to all should be delivered at a price accessible to all.” He also called for strict punishments against actors engaged in speculation and monopoly. He demanded the Convention take severe action to repress counterrevolutionary activity, promising to “show them [enemies] those immortal pikes that overthrew the Bastille.” Lastly, he accused the Convention of ruining the finances of the state and encouraged the exclusive use of the assignats to stabilize finances.
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