#barere

it’s the the naf 24158 collection of notes, which has the stuff that barère kept of sj’s, and some of barère’s notes on sj… here’s it close up:

and this is the pdf of the whole document: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DHPVuthJhDXQyOhmzPb85HWROEm6pAr6/view?usp=drivesdk

A documentary film directed by Jean-François Delassus.

Last Monday with @mathildeaquisexta, I had the great opportunity to finally watch this movie, which was believed to be a lost media for a long time. Indeed, it is not: if you are in France and live close to an archive or library that provides access to INA's stored material, you can see it too on the spot.

The film structure is rather straightforward and nothing new when it comes to this kind of media: there's a narrator, Michel Debré in this case, who describes Carnot's political and military career from his election to the Committee of Public Safety until the coup of 18 Fructidor. His vicissitudes through the Consulate and the Empire are only quickly listed in a couple of minutes at the end - as they are not the focus of the movie - to leave eventually space for M. Debré to draw some conclusions on Carnot's deeds and views on how a democratic state should work.

Considering that it hasn't been uploaded anywhere online yet and that the series, which the movie is part of, Les samedis de l'histoire, was broadcast only once - it didn't have much success apparently - my friend and I didn't have very high expectations, but with our surprise, the film revealed itself to be rather decent and entertaining, with very few serious historical inaccuracies.

I'm no historian and even less a film critic, so, instead of attempting to make - and consequently fail since I'm not trained for such things - a real review, I'll simply write down my personal opinions and impressions, starting with what I didn't appreciate, to proceed with its strong points. At the end of this post, if Tumblr allows it, I uploads some pictures I took with my phone and some others I found online. They aren't of very high quality; nonetheless, I did my best to edit them so that they look decent. Unfortunately, in some instances, removing the glare and other unwanted effects was impossible with the means available. Better than nothing though, since INA hasn't agreed on giving copies of the movie upon request yet.

With that being said, let's begin!

I am geographically challenged, and I really, really wanted a way to visualise what constituencies the members of the Third Committee of Public Safety ( July 1793 – July 1794) represented. So, this map was born.

Bertrand Barère: Hautes-Pyrénées

Jacques Billaud-Varenne:  Paris

Lazare Carnot: Pas-de-Calais

Jean-Marie Collot: Paris

Georges Couthon: Puy-de-Dôme

Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles: Seine-et-Oise

Robert Lindet: Eure

Pierre-Louis Prieur de la Marne: Marne (hence the name…)

Claude-Antoine Prieur: Côte-d'Or (ditto)

Maximilien Robespierre: Paris

André Jeanbon Saint-André: Lot

Louis Antoine de Saint-Just: Aisne

Gracchus Babeuf, during his frequent imprisonments, managed to escape arrest once. During his last incarceration, he attempted to escape with the help of his wife, Marie-Anne Babeuf, but the plan failed. He sent her a coded letter. Since his wife, despite being a well-known and effective revolutionary, was illiterate (though adept with numbers), it is assumed that accomplices helped her decipher it. The letter read:

"There is only one guard inside the small courtyard; we must win him over. We will take him to Paris with us—he will be welcomed as the liberator of the people’s friends. He should come between six and eight in the evening. We’ll leave through the house you know of. For the first signal, the liberator should whistle the tune of 'Victory Singing' at noon or after. In the evening, at the desired moment, he should strike the ground three times with the butt of his rifle. Reply to me through the citoyenne as agreed.”

Here is the original text in French The message could be deciphered by taking the first and last word of each line : « Il-n’y-a-qu’un-homme-de-garde-dedans-la-petite-court-au-bout-il-faudrait-le-gagner-nous-l’emporterons-avec-nous-à-Paris-il-serait-reçucomme-le-libérateur-des-amis-du-peuple-il-faudra-qu’il-monte-de-six-à-huit-du-soir-on-partirais-par-la-maison-que-vous-savez. Il-faut-pour-premier-signal-que-le-libérateur-ce-jour-là-à-midi-ou-après-siffle-l’air-la-victoire-en-chantant-et-le-soir-au-moment-désiréfrappera-sur-la-terre-trois-fois-successivement-avec-la-crosse-de-son-fusil-réponds-moi-par-la-citoyenne-comme-nous-en-sommes-convenus »

Felix Le Peletier Felix Le Peletier, a Jacobin deported by Bonaparte alongside many others, temporarily stayed on Île de Ré while awaiting transfer. Before his departure, he was visited by a relative, which gave him an opportunity to escape. Adding a touch of audacity, Felix informed the Minister of Justice of his escape in a letter before authorities discovered it. Parisian officials learned of the incident from Felix's letter before the local prefect could report it. His escape was facilitated by a friend :Saint-Jean-d’Angély, a State Councilor close to Bonaparte, which allowed Felix to return to Paris on his own terms. His playful defiance seemed to mock his pursuers.

The Escape of the 22 French Sailors from Gibraltar

I would like to get more information about the escape of the 22 French sailors detained in Gibraltar on November 30, 1794. Link to Paris Musées Collections.

The escape of Bertrand Barère

Check out @aedesluminis's post about Barère's escape, following the response I gave to her about Billaud Varennes: link.

Prieur de la Marne:After supporting the insurgents of 1st Prairial, he was ordered to be arrested but managed to escape so he didn't go to jail.

1. The Escape of Commander Azzedine of Wilaya IV:

As described in his memoirs, "C'était la guerre: Algérie 1954-1962", Commander Azzedine escaped twice following his two arrests. He vividly recounts how he managed to deceive General Massu after being captured by the French army. Azzedine pretended to cooperate, claiming that he would work with Massu for "the peace of the brave," in exchange for the French army's approval. However, he used this opportunity to return to the maquis and continue fighting for the revolution, after securing his family's safety by threatening to be eliminated if he did not comply with Massu's orders.

Azzedine famously said: "I am often surprised when asked about 'the word I gave' to General Massu. As far as I know, since the dawn of time, a prisoner's first duty is to escape. This is a right recognized by the Geneva Convention. I was arrested twice(...)However, when Massu wanted me to turn against my people, that subject became tragically ridiculous. What? I gave Massu 'my word' that I would return? What else! Massu was the leader of the occupying army. He was my enemy, not a friend. I didn’t make a poker game with him that I lost and owe him a debt!”

In the preface to one of his books, Azzedine states the following to Massu: "What can the victim do in the hands of its executioner? Fail your sense of honor or respond to the call of revolutionary struggle, to the call of the people? Today, I am sure, you have the answer. This book, at least, will give you the keys. If you wish, I will explain my decision to you in person."

Many years later, Massu allegedly criticized Azzedine for this, but considering Massu's own crimes,he had no moral standing to do so. Azzedine was fully in his right, and he expressed it openly (perhaps a future post could delve deeper into the tragic episode of the "Peace of the Brave").

2. Ahmed Akkache, Algerian Revolutionary:

The case of Ahmed Akkache, an Algerian revolutionary, who was apparently a friend of one of the most well-known revolutionaries in Algeria, the mathematician Maurice Audin. His friend Audin likely died under torture (his body was never found, and the French authorities, French politicians, and military personnel involved in his death have refused to answer questions, benefiting from amnesty and immunity for everything that happened, and even today it is difficult to know the truth). At one point, Ahmed Akkache was captured by the French authorities.

On December 14, 1961, Ahmed Akkache, along with four fellow prisoners (Benakli Ahmed, Sadek Keramane, Cheurfi Salah, and Ali Stambouli), escaped from Algiers prison after sawing through a window bar with a piece of saw hidden in a toothpaste tube, with help from accomplices outside the prison. After climbing several walls and attempting to use a rope made of sheets, Akkache managed to escape, but his companions were quickly captured.

He was then hunted down. Injured during his escape, he found refuge with a doctor, Lucie Cannone, to whom he revealed his status as a fugitive because he knew she had once been involved with networks of Algerian independence sympathizers. A network of former resistance members helped him evade the authorities.

3. Hélène Cuénat, Member of the Janson Network:

Hélène Cuénat, a member of the Janson network (a group of people helping the FLN operatives in France), was responsible for distributing the FLN's funds hidden in suitcases. After her arrest, she publicly announced that she wouldn’t remain in prison for long. She kept her word, escaping with five fellow prisoners (Joséphine Carré, Micheline Pouteau, Fatima Hamoud, Zina Haraigne, and Eliane Rossario). The prison director was suspended, and the escape made headlines.According to newspapers, the last escape from this prison was in 1942.

4.Mostefa Ben Boulaïd’s Spectacular Escape:

Finally, the most spectacular one in my opinion: that of Mostefa Ben Boulaïd, considered one of the six historical leaders of the FLN (it would require a separate post about this exceptional Algerian revolutionary, like so many others, who had already been active in the MTLD and the OS organization before). He was the colonel of Wilaya I (Wilaya I corresponds to the Aurès, and colonel was the highest rank within the interior of the Wilaya during the Algerian revolution). However, Ben Boulaïd was arrested in 1955 at the Tunisian-Libyan border because he had gone to acquire firearms.

He was judged and sentenced to death despite the help of brilliant lawyers such as Pierre Stibbe (colonial courts were real parodies of justice, as I mentioned in posts about Fernand Iveton, who was guillotined by the colonial justice system of the time as you can see here https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/754386579065389056/fernand-and-helene-iveton-a-couple-in-the-algerian?source=share ). But he managed to escape with other death row prisoners. Here is what I understand about this spectacular escape from the Coudiat prison in Constantine. It was on November 10, 1955, at 6:30 p.m. Days before, Ben Boulaïd and his companions, all sentenced to death, had scouted the area. Ben Boulaïd realized one thing: the collective cell where they were all imprisoned was adjacent to a storage room that led to the inner courtyard and then to some alleys. The plan began in October 1955, with prisoners taking turns for 28 days to dig a tunnel from their cell to the storage room. A homemade ladder, made from beds and sheets, allowed the prisoners to scale the prison walls.

On the chosen day, at 5 p.m., taking advantage of a moment when only three guards were on duty, the prisoners entered the tunnel and climbed the inner wall using bundles of straw. They used the ladder as a bridge to cross the gap between the inner and outer walls. The order of passage was determined by drawing lots. However, when the 12th man, Saïd Chouki, passed through, the bridge collapsed, leaving him injured. The other eleven escapees, including Mustapha Ben Boulaïd and Mohamed Laifa, managed to escape.

The remaining 19 prisoners, blocked in the walkways, were recaptured (including Saïd Chouki). They were transferred to the Casbah prison, where executions by guillotine began in the summer of 1956. It is said that the Constantine prefect of the time, Pierre Dupuch, was shocked when he saw the hole dug in the cell. The prison director and the chief guard were imprisoned for negligence in the same prison where the escaped prisoners had originally been held. The director of the Constantine Penitentiary District was removed from his position. The press made a big noise about this spectacular escape.

Personally, one of the many reasons why I find Algerian revolutionaries more impressive than French revolutionaries (but then again, it’s a bit anachronistic to compare the two periods, as the contexts and situations are completely different). Feel free to share escape anecdotes of other revolutionaries from any period or country.

I wish we knew! There are not many sources on it (especially pre-Thermidor, and especially from SJ's side), so most of what we know is from Barère post-Thermidor, which... is not the full picture. Or it's said by other people, also post Thermidor.

But! Barère is not my area of expertise (= I don't know two things about the guy) so I cannot give a proper answer on this.