1.2 | The National Convention: a new assembly takes power

The new assembly was named the “National Convention”. It was divided into different political groups: the Girondins, the Montagnards and representatives from the Plaine or Marais, who held a majority.

The powers of the new republican regime were now concentrated within the Assembly, which was named the National Convention. In French, the word means “agreement” or “pact”, but in English it also denotes the “unification” of the British colonies of North America during the American Revolution. Its ambition was therefore universal and its task immense. The National Convention was not only charged with building the Republic, it was also responsible for changing people’s daily lives through legislation. The formation of the revolutionary government, between October and December 1793, consolidated the distribution of powers: the Convention was central. Its actions relied on several committees, including the all-important Committee of Public Safety.