#Paul Barras

[plrle]

barras in his mini skirt or whatever

[aedesluminis]

These two dreadful men [Barras and Tallien] were united, not by bonds of true friendship, to which honest souls are susceptible, but by their emulation of cruelty. They both exerted violence, they both bathed themselves in blood, one in Marseilles, the other in Bordeaux. In order to defend myself from their faction, when they relentlessly persecuted me, I had to retrieve some collections of letters that they sent to the Committee of Public Safety during their missions. It is impossible to conceive something more appalling and everything that has been published about them gives only a vague idea of those horrible lines, directly taken from their correspondence.

— L. Carnot, Réponse à Bailleul, p. 192-193

last edited 06/06/2024

[citizen-card]

hate it when a bitch i don’t like serves

[magicmagic09]

Barras and snake ChéChé doodle.

[demaskblue]

You could draw Fouché being a bi ally for Barras and one of his soldier boytoys lol

this made me laugh so much when i initially saw it haha :)

I didnt know any soldiers so i put David i hope it makes it funnier

[privateandshamefulvices]

How various people from 1790s France handle the BBC show The Traitors, an incomplete list:

Robespierre - getting this out of the way immediately: terrible. Could not hack being a traitor, is suspicious of basically everyone as a faithful. Is also suspicious to everyone because it's The Traitors and any kind of nd trait is picked up on and mob punished at the round table. Banished for being a Suspicious Autist by ep 4.

Marie Antoinette - bordering on Maddy->Aaron levels of paranoia towards Philippe Égalité, eventhough he's not doing any of the shit she's accusing him of. Gets murdered mid way through.

Louis XVI - flies under the radar for a bit by just agreeing with whatever the last person who spoke said. Barely contributes to round table discussions, comes back to bite him because they think he's being sneaky. Alyssa vibes.

Lafayette - alienates everyone by sticking by his own opinions and ignoring the fact that it's turning everyone off. Maddycore. 50/50 as to whether he's banished before he's murdered but he's not winning.

Marat - Murdered wayyy early for having too much influence over the roundtable.

Fouquier-Tinville - incomprehensibly, lasts longer than expected. The definition of flying under the radar.

Barras - Kierancore. Thinks he's in on the conspiracy. Isn't. Gets banished as a human sacrifice.

Talleyrand - Amanda vibes. Incredible for 4/5s of the show, sneakiness leads to an 11th hour double-cross from within.

Fouché - CRUSHES IT.

Danton - gets banished because people think arsehole = traitor despite all evidence to the contrary and historical precedent.

Saint-Just - keeps the Robespierre portrait like Andrea with Amos after he's banished. Is murdered super early if Camille is a traitor. If they're both faithful they're too wrapped up in beefing each other to work everything out. Gets banished after his allies leave/fall away.

Camille - deeply terrible at sussing out traitors whatever he thinks, but occasionally lands a hit so they don't feel comfortable murdering him. Gets banished bc you live and die by the way others perceive you and he not pretending to be your best mate whether he's a traitor or not.

[empirearchives]

Paul Barras was unbelievably over the top. He was trying to convince Napoleon to invade England to “purge the world of the monsters.” But Napoleon thought it was a bad idea, so Barras said this to him: “May St James's Palace crumble into dust. Your country wishes it. Humanity requires it. Revenge demands it.”

[napoleondidthat]

Isn’t this Barras hanging out at the Coronation?

Whatchya doin’ there Paul?

[saint-jussy]

Are we gonna talk about the time Barras either admitted to following Robespierre home (if this account is true) or fantasized about saving Robespierre from the ~ evil, STRONGER collot ~ and then following him home (if this was made up YEARS AFTER the fact)

[anotherhumaninthisworld]

Someone told me a story about Barras following Robespierre because he was worried for him. They didn't remember the whole story, but Robespierre wasn't pleased to be followed at night. Do you know what it might refer to?

The story originates from Barras’ memoirs:

At a time when the Convention was already in a high state of alarm there circulated a list of five or six deputies. It was rumored that Robespierre intended to have them arrested as a little treat to himself, alleging their immorality as the motive of this proposed act of severity. Robespierre, informed of what was being imputed to him, asserted that such an idea was foreign to him, and, desirous of hurling it back at its authors, he maintained that it had originated with the majority of the Committee, which, he alleged, had pushed its cruelty so far as to seek to include thirty-two deputies in its latest proscription list. In vain did those who spoke in defence of Robespierre's innocence of the idea and his humanity protest that it was he who had opposed this more than rigorous measure, that he had torn up the list with his own hands and, apostrophizing the Committee, had said: "You are seeking to still further decimate the Convention; I will not give my support to such action." Robespierre had indeed spoken these words just as, making an attempt to leave the Committee, he had opened the door with the intention of being heard by the deputies and a large number of citizens, who, attracted by the noise of a quarrel in the bosom of the Committee, were waiting in the antechamber for the purpose of gratifying their curiosity thus aroused. Collot d'Herbois, furious at such hypocrisy, had sprung after Robespierre, seized him by his coat, and, dragging him towards him in order to bring him back into the room, exclaimed in his resounding voice, which, the door remaining ajar, was heard by all, both the Committee and the people outside: "Robespierre is an infamous scoundrel, a hypocrite; he seeks to impute to us that of which he alone is capable. We love all our colleagues; we carry all patriots in our hearts. There stands the man who seeks to butcher them one and all!" Thus vociferating, Collot d'Herbois still retained his hold on Robespierre's coat-collar. As I had at that very moment left the Convention, on my way to the Committee, I became a chance spectator of this fearful scene, whose violence was still not the greatest crime in my eyes. Behind it stood revealed the plot of premeditated vengeance, far worse than a mere outburst of anger. I was among those who compelled Collot d'Herbois to release his hold of Robespierre, who thereupon declared that he could no longer sit with his enemies, styling them a party of septemvirs, whom he would unmask and fight in the body of the Convention. He then took his departure, in spite of the entreaties of the Committee, which, having been unable to conquer, sought to retain him in its midst. "Let him go his way," I said to those surrounding him. All my interest in him lay in the fact that I did not wish to see him strangled on the spot by a stronger man, and one perhaps as wicked as himself. I followed him for a short distance in order to see him safely home; he was trembling as he walked along. Noticing that I was following him closely, he gave me an uncertain look, seeming at one and the same time to thank me for having rescued him but a few moments before, while reproaching me with the humiliating position in which I had seen him. I could just make out from a few sentences he ejaculated the words "Jacobins" and "Cordeliers: we shall see." I left him at the door of his house and returned to the Convention, where I told in confidence what had taken place. 

Memoirs should in themselves always be treated with caution, and those of Barras are absolutely no exception. According to the article Barras au neuf thermidor (1977) by H. Monteagle, these memoirs were first and foremost not written by Barras himself, but by Alexandre Rousselin (another former Convention deputy) who based them on notes left by Barras. Here is the note describing the same incident, but as can be seen, it doesn’t actually mention Barras following Robespierre home after it…:

This fight between Robespierre and Collot is recounted in more detail in another autograph note by Barras. After Robespierre opposed a new measure of proscription, saying: "You are decimating the National Convention, you are arresting citizens whose republican energy you fear," the boor Collot d'Herbois threw himself on him and seized him. He was about to throw Robespierre out the window when the latter's friends freed him. This scene was followed by discussions. Robespierre observed that he could no longer sit with executioners, that he was retiring and that he would report to the Convention. The committee which foresaw his fall then opposed the exit of Robespierre. The proscription list was torn up in his presence. The hypocritical Carnot and the bland Couthon told him that Collot's outburst of anger was disavowed by the Committee, that the publicity of what had just happened would ruin the government committees and the Republic. He was urged to make the sacrifice of all resentment, that this proof of patriotism was expected from him. A furious Collot apostrophized the two mediators, complained of the weakness of his colleagues and left the session. Very affected Robespierre alternately observed his adversaries. He said to them on leaving: “You would have made me look mad. If the abortive plan to throw me through the window had taken place... I see here beings more atrocious than the one who was to execute it; he walked out ashamed of having accepted this assassination.” Robespierre retired and did not reappear for two months on the committee. Robespierre was a sober republican, austere in his morals, but with a pride that could not stand rivalry...

According to Monteagle, Rousselin did take big liberties with the notes Barras left him, so perhaps the story of B following R is one of them? Looking at Barras’ wikipedia page it would also appear there exists three different versions of his memoirs (the two extracts above come from separate memoirs) so it all seems a bit messy to me… My bottom line would at least be to treat that anecdote with caution.

[microcosme11]

Barras doesn’t know who he’s dealing with

Le général Bonaparte, à cette même époque, à la fin de 1797, sonda l'opinion publique relativement aux directeurs ; il vit qu'ils n'étaient point aimés, mais qu’un sentiment républicain rendait encore impossible à un général de se mettre à la place des magistrats civils. Un soir il parlait avec Barras de son ascendant sur les peuples italiens, qui avaient voulu le faire duc de Milan et roi d'Italie. Mais je ne pense , dit-il, à rien de semblable dans aucun pays. « Vous faites bien de n'y pas songer en France, » répondit Barras; car, si le directoire vous envoyait demain au Temple, il n'y aurait pas quatre personnes qui s'y opposassent, » Bonaparte était assis sur un canapé à côté de Barras; à ces paroles il s'élança vers la cheminée, n'étant point maître de son irritation ; puis, reprenant cette espèce de calme apparent dont les hommes les plus passionnés parmi les habitants du Midi sont capables, il déclara qu'il voulait être chargé d'une expédition militaire.

--

General Bonaparte, at this same time, the end of 1797, sounded public opinion with regard to the directors; he saw that they weren’t liked at all, but that a republican sentiment still made it impossible for a general to take the place of civil magistrates. One evening he was talking with Barras about his ascendancy over the Italian people, who had wanted to make him Duke of Milan and King of Italy."But I do not think,” he said, “of anything similar in any country.” "You do well not to think of it in France," replied Barras, “for if the Directory sent you to the Temple tomorrow, there would not be four people who would oppose it." Bonaparte was seated on a sofa beside Barras; At these words he rushed towards the fireplace, unable to master his irritation; then, resuming that sort of apparent calm of which the most passionate men among the inhabitants of the South are capable, he declared that he wanted to be put in charge of a military expedition.

Considérations sur les principaux événements de la révolution française, by Madame de Staël

[aedesluminis]

Basically it's saying that less than one month before 18th Fructidor, Carnot had various beefs with his colleagues Directors, that he and Barras came to blows (yes, really) and that they failed to challenge themselves to a duel.

NOOOO I WANTED THE DUEL.

From Reinhard, Le Grand Carnot vol2, p.236

[citizen-card]

is this historically accurate?

[shutterbulky]

Paul Barras: An Unsung Hero?

History, akin to an antique mystery novel, boasts a cast of characters both celebrated and overlooked. In the tapestry of the French Revolution, one such figure emerges—Paul Barras. Was he merely a face in the crowd, or could he be the unsung hero, overshadowed by time? Join us, history enthusiasts and novices alike, as we delve into the enigma of Paul Barras. A Glimpse into Barras’ Past Paul…

[guycourtheoux]

NAPOLEON, de Ridley Scott c'est au cinéma. Chef d'oeuvre ou nullité?

Le jugement est difficile pour ce film qui mélange des choses très positives, comme le talent indéniable d’un réalisateur, et une vision d’un des hommes politiques les plus importants  pour la France. Vous ne verrez pas l’histoire de Napoléon de la naissance à ses derniers instants. On entre dans l’histoire de l’homme  alors que l’on a les images des derniers instants de Marie Antoinette,…

[didanagy]

A LITTLE CHAOS (2014)

dir. alan rickman