Revolutionary sections of Paris

The revolutionary sections of Paris were subdivisions of Paris during the French Revolution. They first arose in 1790 and were suppressed in 1795.

At the time of the Revolution, Paris measured 3440 hectares, compared to the 7800 hectares of today. It was bounded to the west by the place de l'Étoile, to the east by the cimetière du Père-Lachaise, to the north by place de Clichy, and to the south by the cimetière de Montparnasse. Under the Ancien Régime, the city had been divided into 21 'quartiers'.

In 1789, with a view to elections to the Estates General, it was instead divided provisionally into 60 districts. By a decree of 21 May 1790, sanctioned by King Louis XVI on 27 June, the National Constituent Assembly created 48 'sections' ('section' then meaning a territorial and administrative division) to replace the 60 districts. Each section was made up of a civil committee, a revolutionary committee and an armed force.

After the Thermidorian Reaction on 27 July 1794, the sections still played an important role in suppressing the popular uprisings. In 1795, however, they were suppressed by the French Directory, which renamed the areas covered by sections as divisions, then quartiers.

Each section was headed by a civil committee of 16 members (elected by active citizens in the area covered by the section), the juges de paix (judges) and members intended to act as intermediaries between their section and the Paris Commune. From 1792 onwards, the sections occupied themselves permanently with political questions. At the end of July 1792, the Parisians decided to abolish the distinction between active citizens and passive citizens. As a result the sections' assemblies sat permanently and became the political organ of the sans-culottes. After the Brunswick Manifesto they demanded the deposition of the king, by 47 sections to 48.

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