Jacques Roux
| Jacques Roux | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 21, 1752 Pranzac, France |
| Died | February 10, 1794 (aged 41) Bicêtre, France |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Occupation | Priest, revolutionary |
| Known for | Radical revolutionary leader |
| Movement | Enragés |
| Opponent(s) | Jacobins, Girondins |
Jacques Roux (21 August 1752 – 10 February 1794) was a radical Roman Catholic priest who took an active role in politics during the French Revolution. He skillfully expounded the ideals of popular democracy and classless society to crowds of Parisian sans-culottes, working class wage earners and shopkeepers, radicalizing them into a dangerous revolutionary force. He became a leader of a popular far-left.
In 1791 Roux was elected to the Paris Commune. When the French First Republic started in 1792, Roux became aligned with the political faction known as the Enragés (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃.ʁa.ʒe]) (French for The Enraged Ones but also a "madmen"). He was considered the most extreme spokesman on the left for the interests of the Parisian sans-culottes.
Roux consistently fought for an economically equal society, turning the crowds of sans-culottes against the bourgeois torpor of the Jacobins. He demanded that food be made available to every member of society, and called for the wealthy to be executed should they hoard it. Roux tirelessly voiced the demands of the poor Parisian population to confiscate aristocratic wealth and provide affordable bread.
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Wikipedia