2.1 | Daily life under war

Controlling the population and conscripting citizens

Midway through 1793, the military situation was deteriorating on the foreign and domestic fronts alike, as counter-revolutionaries, but also moderate and more radical Republicans tore each other apart. The National Convention’s management of the emergency placed considerable pressure on the freedoms of citizens.

After Austria, the young Republic declared war on Great Britain and saw the first coalition of European states assemble against it. In response, 300,000 citizens between the ages of 18 and 40 were drafted, leading to numerous riots. In the west of France, the Vendée region rose up and there were clashes between royalists and republicans. A fresh wave of conscriptions was ordered in the summer, when Toulon was taken by the British and the North became occupied. In Nantes, the counter-revolutionary movement was repressed with particular violence. Insurrections broke out all over France, particularly in Lyon, following the ousting of the Girondin party. To deal with these threats, the National Convention, now in the hands of the Mountain party, transformed Paris into a colossal military arsenal and introduced new policing powers.