Insurrection of 31 May–2 June 1793
| The Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June | |||||
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| Part of the French Revolution | |||||
 Hanriot confronts deputies of the Convention Pierre-Gabriel Berthault en 1804 |
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The insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793 (French: journées), during the French Revolution, resulted in the fall of the Girondin party under pressure of the Parisian sans-culottes, Jacobins of the clubs, and Montagnards in the National Convention. By its impact and importance, this insurrection stands as one of the three great popular insurrections of the French Revolution, following those of 14 July 1789 and 10 August 1792.
During the government of the Legislative Assembly (October 1791-September 1792), Girondins had dominated French politics.
After the start of the newly elected National Convention in September 1792, the Girondins' faction (c. 150) was larger than that of the montagnards (c. 120), most ministries were in the hands of friends or allies of the Girondins, also the state bureaucracy and the provinces remained in their control.
France was expecting its Constitution; what it got by the spring of 1793 was civil war, invasion, difficulties and dangers. The economic situation was deteriorating rapidly. By the end of the winter, grain circulation had stopped completely and grain prices doubled. Against Saint-Just's advice, vast quantities of assignats were still being put in circulation. In February 1793, they had fallen to 50 per cent of their face value. The depreciation provoked inflation and speculation.
Military setbacks from the First Coalition, Dumouriez's treason and the War in the Vendée which had begun in March 1793 drove many republicans towards the montagnards. The Girondins were forced to accept the creation of the Committee of Public Safety and Revolutionary Tribunal.
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