Club de Clichy
Encyclopedia
During the French Revolution
, the Club de Clichy formed in 1794, following the fall of Robespierre, 9 Thermidor an II (27 July 1794). The political club that came to be called the Clichyens met in rooms in the rue de Clichy, which led west towards the fashionable Parisian suburb of Clichy
. The club was initially constituted around the dismissed deputés of the Convention
, most of whom had been imprisoned during the Reign of Terror
. Under the French Directorate they began to play an increasingly important role on the political Right, embracing moderate republicans and monarchiens, that is, those who still believed that in a constitutional monarchy based in part on the British model lay the best future for France. The main projectors of the "Clichy club" were François Antoine de Boissy d'Anglas
, Charles Pichegru
and Camille Jordan
; among other members were Mathieu Dumas, Pierre Paul Royer-Collard
, and General Willot. With the closure of the Jacobin Club
in November 1794, the danger from the political Left appeared to subside, and moderates drifted away from the Club de Clichy, which was dormant for several years.
Under the Directorate, the salons of Paris
began cautiously to reconvene, under the guidance of women whose fortunes had not been ruined during the Revolution's first decade; the private sphere became politicized "one of the few sanctuaries of free exchange" observes the historian of the salons as a political force, as the public sphere was not free. Within the span of political opinion, those members of the Club de Clichy who figured among the monarchiens signalled their party loyalties in the long black waistcoats they wore. Mme de Staël attempted in her salon mixte to bridge the social and political differences between the monarchiens of the Club de Clichy and factions who were more securely associated with the new regime, such as those who congregated with Benjamin Constant
at the Hôtel de Salm or in Talleyrand's circle.
In a rearguard reaction to preserve the rapidly dissolving powers of the Directorate
in the face of public opinion, after 205 of 216 conventionnels who ran for re-election in 1797 were rejected by the limited group of enfranchised voters (but two of the Clichyens were seated) the extremists among the Club de Clichy were intent on turning out the Directors and repealing Revolutionary legislation, especially that directed against the returned émigrés and the Church.
The club de Clichy seemed to be in a position to dominate the Council of Five Hundred
through the newly elected deputies. Divisions among the group pitted about 80 intransigent partisans for the return of monarchy, headed by Gilbert-Desmolières, against moderates around Mathieu Dumas, who avoided confrontations with the five-man Directorate. The apex of the Clichyens influence was in the election to the Directorate of Balthazar-François Barthélémy.
Napoleon Bonaparte's reaction was a proclamation to the army denouncing the Clichyens, and matters rapidly evolved in the coup d'état of 18 Fructidor. On 3 September a royalist conspiracy was announced; the following morning Pichegru, still in correspondence with the prince de Condé, was among those arrested. Few others among the Clichyens, however, were in such treasonable relations with the royalist pretender
and his advisors. On the fifth, he was among those ordered for deportation to Guyane
, and the new party rapidly consolidated its power. Among its first actions was to close and ban the Club de Clichy, though it hesitated to treat other, more private salons— though kept under close police surveillance— as political associations, which the Directorate had previously banned as "private associations occupying themselves with political questions."
In the history of slavery
the Clichyenss nucleus of French colonial planters coordinated a common voice against Abolition
, as detrimental to the French colonies
. Public statements of the club de Clichy generally appeared in the right-wing press, L'Éclair, Le Véridique, Le Messager du soir, Les nouvelles politiques.
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, the Club de Clichy formed in 1794, following the fall of Robespierre, 9 Thermidor an II (27 July 1794). The political club that came to be called the Clichyens met in rooms in the rue de Clichy, which led west towards the fashionable Parisian suburb of Clichy
Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine
-Administration:The canton covers a part of the commune; the other is in the northern part of Levallois-Perret-Twinnings: Heidenheim, Germany, since 1959 Sankt Pölten, Austria, since 1968 Santo Tirso, Portugal, since 1991 Rubí, Spain, since 2005 Southwark, United Kingdom, since 2005Clichy has also...
. The club was initially constituted around the dismissed deputés of the Convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
, most of whom had been imprisoned during the Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
. Under the French Directorate they began to play an increasingly important role on the political Right, embracing moderate republicans and monarchiens, that is, those who still believed that in a constitutional monarchy based in part on the British model lay the best future for France. The main projectors of the "Clichy club" were François Antoine de Boissy d'Anglas
François Antoine de Boissy d'Anglas
François Antoine de Boissy d'Anglas was a French statesman of the Revolution, First Republic and Empire.-Early career:Born to a Protestant family in Saint-Jean-Chambre, Ardèche, he studied Law and, after literary attempts, became a lawyer to the parlement of Paris.In 1789 he was elected by the...
, Charles Pichegru
Charles Pichegru
Jean-Charles Pichegru was a French general and political figure of the French Revolution and Revolutionary Wars.-Early life and career:...
and Camille Jordan
Camille Jordan
Marie Ennemond Camille Jordan was a French mathematician, known both for his foundational work in group theory and for his influential Cours d'analyse. He was born in Lyon and educated at the École polytechnique...
; among other members were Mathieu Dumas, Pierre Paul Royer-Collard
Pierre Paul Royer-Collard
Pierre Paul Royer-Collard , was a French statesman and philosopher, leader of the Doctrinaires group during the Bourbon Restoration .-Biography:...
, and General Willot. With the closure of the Jacobin Club
Jacobin Club
The Jacobin Club was the most famous and influential political club in the development of the French Revolution, so-named because of the Dominican convent where they met, located in the Rue St. Jacques , Paris. The club originated as the Club Benthorn, formed at Versailles from a group of Breton...
in November 1794, the danger from the political Left appeared to subside, and moderates drifted away from the Club de Clichy, which was dormant for several years.
Under the Directorate, the salons of Paris
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
began cautiously to reconvene, under the guidance of women whose fortunes had not been ruined during the Revolution's first decade; the private sphere became politicized "one of the few sanctuaries of free exchange" observes the historian of the salons as a political force, as the public sphere was not free. Within the span of political opinion, those members of the Club de Clichy who figured among the monarchiens signalled their party loyalties in the long black waistcoats they wore. Mme de Staël attempted in her salon mixte to bridge the social and political differences between the monarchiens of the Club de Clichy and factions who were more securely associated with the new regime, such as those who congregated with Benjamin Constant
Benjamin Constant
Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque was a Swiss-born French nobleman, thinker, writer and politician.-Biography:...
at the Hôtel de Salm or in Talleyrand's circle.
In a rearguard reaction to preserve the rapidly dissolving powers of the Directorate
Directorate
A directorate is an agency usually headed by a director, often a subdivision of a major government department.* Immigration and Nationality Directorate* Dairat al-Mukhabarat al-Ammah * Veterinary Medicines Directorate...
in the face of public opinion, after 205 of 216 conventionnels who ran for re-election in 1797 were rejected by the limited group of enfranchised voters (but two of the Clichyens were seated) the extremists among the Club de Clichy were intent on turning out the Directors and repealing Revolutionary legislation, especially that directed against the returned émigrés and the Church.
The club de Clichy seemed to be in a position to dominate the Council of Five Hundred
Council of Five Hundred
The Council of Five Hundred , or simply the Five Hundred was the lower house of the legislature of France during the period commonly known as the Directory , from 22 August 1795 until 9 November 1799, roughly the second half of the period generally referred to as the...
through the newly elected deputies. Divisions among the group pitted about 80 intransigent partisans for the return of monarchy, headed by Gilbert-Desmolières, against moderates around Mathieu Dumas, who avoided confrontations with the five-man Directorate. The apex of the Clichyens influence was in the election to the Directorate of Balthazar-François Barthélémy.
Napoleon Bonaparte's reaction was a proclamation to the army denouncing the Clichyens, and matters rapidly evolved in the coup d'état of 18 Fructidor. On 3 September a royalist conspiracy was announced; the following morning Pichegru, still in correspondence with the prince de Condé, was among those arrested. Few others among the Clichyens, however, were in such treasonable relations with the royalist pretender
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
and his advisors. On the fifth, he was among those ordered for deportation to Guyane
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
, and the new party rapidly consolidated its power. Among its first actions was to close and ban the Club de Clichy, though it hesitated to treat other, more private salons— though kept under close police surveillance— as political associations, which the Directorate had previously banned as "private associations occupying themselves with political questions."
In the history of slavery
History of slavery
The history of slavery covers slave systems in historical perspective in which one human being is legally the property of another, can be bought or sold, is not allowed to escape and must work for the owner without any choice involved...
the Clichyenss nucleus of French colonial planters coordinated a common voice against Abolition
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
, as detrimental to the French colonies
French Colonies
"French Colonies" is the name used by philatelists to refer to the postage stamps issued by France for use in the parts of the French colonial empire that did not have stamps of their own...
. Public statements of the club de Clichy generally appeared in the right-wing press, L'Éclair, Le Véridique, Le Messager du soir, Les nouvelles politiques.