Jean Joseph Victor Génissieu
| Jean Joseph Victor Génissieu | |
|---|---|
| Born |
29 October 1749 Chabeuil, Drôme, France |
| Died | 27 October 1804 (aged 54) Paris, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Lawyer and politician |
| Known for | Minister of Justice |
Jean Joseph Victor Génissieu (29 October 1749 – 27 October 1804) was a French lawyer and politician who was in turn president of the National Convention, Minister of Justice and president of the Council of Five Hundred during the French Revolution.
Jean Joseph Victor Génissieu was born in Chabeuil, Drôme, in October 1749. His family originally came from Parnans, near to Romans-sur-Isère. His grandfather Clément Génissieu left that village towards the end of the 17th century and established himself as a merchant in Chabeuil. His parents were Joseph Génissieux, notary and prosecutor, and Dominique Faure. Jean Joseph Victor Génissieu became an advocate with the Grenoble parliament before the Revolution. When the revolution broke out in 1789, he assisted in the assembly of Vizille and organized the "People's Society of Grenoble." In 1790 he was named administrator of the Grenoble district and judge of the Grenoble court.
In September 1792 Génissieu was elected to the National Convention for the department of Isère, and became one of the most important members. He was an ardent revolutionary. He did not sit with the Mountain, but was associated with almost all the violent measures of the Convention. On 16 December 1792 he demanded that all members of the royal family be banished, including the Duke of Orleans. On 20 January 1793 he voted for the death of King Louis XVI of France without appeal or reprieve. On 26 March he demanded that all the former nobles be disarmed. On 31 March 1793 Génissieu spoke in the Convention in favor of banning performances of Voltaire's play Mérope. The allusions in the play to a queen in mourning were awkward since Louis XVI had just been executed. On 22 July he voted that a forced loan, voted the month before, be levied only on the capitalists. On 5 July he declared that the priests and nobles who took part in the Vendée uprising should be treated as chiefs of brigands. He constantly pressed for the most severe measures against the émigrés.
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