Enragés
The Enragés (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃ʁɑʒe]; transl. "enraged ones"), commonly known as the Ultra-radicals (French: Ultra-radicaux), were a small number of firebrands known for defending the lower class and expressing the demands of the radical sans-culottes during the French Revolution. They played an active role in the 31 May – 2 June 1793 Paris uprisings that forced the expulsion of the Girondins from the National Convention, allowing the Montagnards to assume full control. The Enragés gained their name for their angry rhetoric appealing to the National Convention to take more measures that would benefit the poor. Jacques Roux, Jean-François Varlet, Jean Théophile Victor Leclerc and Claire Lacombe, the primary leaders of the Enragés, were strident critics of the National Convention for failing to carry out the promises of the French Revolution.
Enraged Ones Enragés | |
---|---|
Leaders | Jacques Roux Théophile Leclerc Jean Varlet Claire Lacombe |
Founded | 1792 |
Dissolved | 1794 |
Split from | Jacobin Club |
Ideology | Direct democracy Proto-socialism Republicanism Ultra-radicalism Populism |
Political position | Far-left |
Colours | Red |
|
Part of a series on |
Radicalism |
---|
The Enragés were not a unified party, but rather a set of individuals who worked for their own objectives, and evidence of cooperation between them is inconclusive. The leaders did not view themselves as part of a cohesive movement, with Roux even calling for Varlet's arrest at one point. The notion of the Enragés as a cohesive group was perpetuated by the Jacobins, as they lumped their critics Leclerc and Roux into one group.