Jean-François Varlet

Jean-François Varlet (1764, Paris – 1837) was a leader of the Enragé faction in the French Revolution.

Born in Paris on 14 July 1764 into a family of the petty bourgeoisie, Jean-François Varlet studied at the Collège d'Harcourt.

He welcomed with enthusiasm the Revolution, wrote patriotic songs, signed petitions, including that of the Champ de Mars on 17 July 1791.

On 24 May 1793 he was arrested along with Jacques-René Hébert, but was triumphantly released three days later. He then laid on preparations for the Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793.

In various writings published in 1792 and 1793, he is a proponent of direct democracy and the redistribution of property. He classed himself with Jacques Roux and others in the Enragés party.

Arrested again in September 1793, he was released on 29 October 1793; arrested yet again after the fall of Robespierre, he spent almost a year in prison.

After his release, Varlet settled at Pailly, Yonne, marrying and having three children.

He became a Bonapartist after 1800 and lived some time in Nantes. He returned to Paris for several months in 1830 to participate in the July Revolution. In 1836 he left Nantes to live at Corbeil-Essonnes, where he drowned on 4 October 1837.

...
Wikipedia