#le bon

Joseph Le Bon ( 1765-1795)

The clash between Robespierre and certain Thermidorians—especially figures like Fouché and Tallien—and the subsequent creation of a "black legend" around Robespierre after his execution, casting him as a scapegoat, is well known among those who have taken even a slight interest in the French Revolution. Many attempt to distinguish myth from historical reality in this context.

And yet, the confrontation between Joseph Le Bon and Guffroy, along with the similar black legend that developed around Le Bon after his execution, remains relatively unknown, despite being just as fascinating. As proof of this neglect, I must admit that although I had watched many documentaries on the French Revolution since I was 16, I only came to understand the historical importance of both Le Bon and Guffroy at the age of 23. (Perhaps this merely reflects my own lack of knowledge, especially since some younger and less specialized people were already aware of them.) In fact, I only learned about Le Bon thanks to his brother-in-law, Darthé, a well-known Babouvist who followed Babeuf to the scaffold. Even now my knowledge of Le Bon ( and Guffroy) remains fragile.

Guffroy was initially close to Jean-Paul Marat, and between January and March 1794, he denounced Le Bon for being too moderate. Later, after Thermidor, Guffroy became one of the key figures in the reactionary movement, accusing Le Bon of excessive violence. According to Jean-Marc Schiappa, Guffroy portrayed Le Bon as a "violent reactionary"—suggesting a reversal of his previous stance. This raises the question: was Le Bon the victim of a black legend orchestrated by people like Guffroy, just as Robespierre was targeted by figures like Tallien? Perhaps Guffroy also sought to obscure his own past behavior. Furthermore, the chronology of the accusations against Le Bon reveals a striking inconsistency, which only adds to the suspicion.

That said, Guffroy does deserve credit for one thing: despite the Committee of Public Safety repeatedly renewing its public support for Le Bon, Guffroy never stopped denouncing him. To me, that displays a certain boldness and courage—even if I doubt that his motivations were rooted in humanitarian concern for the people of Arras. After all, during Thermidor, he would go on to associate with individuals arguably worse than Le Bon, such as Fréron.

It is worth noting that when Babeuf sought to rehabilitate Robespierre’s legacy, he also did so for Joseph Le Bon—a fact often overlooked. And while many historians rightly criticize the brutal behavior and opportunism of men like Fouché, Barras, Fréron, Tallien, and Carrier (even if, to my knowledge, Carrier did not personally enrich himself), they typically refrain from placing Le Bon in the same category. There are numerous biographies written to combat the slander surrounding Robespierre—it’s about time Joseph Le Bon received the same treatment.

However, being the target of a black legend does not automatically make one innocent or morally spotless. The same applies to Robespierre, Ronsin, Fouquier Tinville and many others. Some of the accusations against Le Bon are likely exaggerated or false, but others—particularly certain acts that remain unacceptable even in times of war—should not be dismissed (especially what happened in Arras without wanting to fall into caricature).

I originally hesitated to directly copy and translate the articles but even while crediting the authors by telling the truth that they write these texts and including proper citations, due to concerns over copyright, especially since the pieces are fairly recent. So I won't do it to avoid problems because even if I credit them by explaining that they are the authors of the articles, they could be rightly annoyed that I did not even ask permission to publish their articles on Tumblr (and since I have no way of contacting them, I would not do it) .

Nevertheless, I’m disappointed that the two articles by “Les Amis de Robespierre” focus primarily on Le Bon’s romantic relationship with his wife when she is is mentioned , rather than her political life. Even after her husband’s death, Elisabeth Le Bon continued to discuss political matters in Arras prison with future Babouvists like Charles Germain. In one letter, she writes: “Here, all the friends are in continuous meeting with Babeuf.” Her determination to keep her family name and remain politically engaged, even in prison, shows real strength of character—especially considering that other revolutionary women, even some known for their resilience, were forced to retreat from the public eye. I can’t help but wonder if she played a role in Babeuf’s reevaluation of both Robespierre and Le Bon ( even it is clearly that she wasn't the only reason, there were many reasons why Babeuf decided to become a Robespierrist and admirer of Le Bon again) .

Here are the two articles from the "Amis de Robespierre" website. Although they are in French, it’s still worth trying to translate them:

A more comprehensive, balanced, and annotated article by Bruno Decriem (June 2017): https://www.amis-robespierre.org/?Les-missions-revolutionnaires-de-Joseph-Lebon-dans-le-Pas-de-Calais-en-1793-94

A somewhat more partisan piece in favor of Le Bon by Catherine Dhérent, but still interesting. It includes excerpts of letters, a physical description of Le Bon, and information about his youth. However, some claims (like Guffroy allegedly denouncing a debtor) are not properly sourced: https://www.amis-robespierre.org/?Catherine-Dherent-en-conference-Guislain-Francois-Joseph-Le-Bon

There is also a third article by Lenôtre about Elisabeth Le Bon. It's quite debatable (to put it mildly), since it sometimes falls into the realm of myth-making (plus in the absence of certain evidence, one should not automatically believe everything this article says). Still, it’s an intriguing read—particularly the claim that the Le Bon couple temporarily stayed at Guffroy’s house on June 29, 1793: https://rodama1789.blogspot.com/2017/11/mimie-wife-of-joseph-le-bon.html

P.S. I’ve always wondered whether the reason why the political conflict between Guffroy and Le Bon isn’t as well known as the Robespierre vs. Tallien/Fouché clash is simply because Le Bon, while prominent, never sat on the Committee of Public Safety. Robespierre’s position gave him far more visibility. Similarly, despite Guffroy’s political skills, he never achieved the high profile that Tallien did on 9 Thermidor (even if Tallien’s fall from grace was quick and widely mocked), and Fouché later became Minister of Police. Guffroy, by contrast, remained a member of the Committee of General Security even if he will be dismissed later, though some sources suggest he later worked under the Ministry of Justice during the Consulate.

That’s unfortunate, because the more I learn about Le Bon and Guffroy, the more I find them just as compelling as the other major figures of the Revolution.

One final point: while much attention has been given to the political role of the Le Bon couple, I would also be very curious to learn more about Guffroy’s own wife . He held progressive views on women’s rights (though this didn’t stop him from slandering Elisabeth Le Bas, writing disturbing things about Lucile Desmoulins and Marie-Françoise Hébert, or violently dismissing his collaborator Marie-Anne Babeuf—threatening to denounce her husband, according to Gracchus Babeuf).

This letter from Guffroy, written as a member of the Committee of General Security and addressed to his colleagues about Charlotte Robespierre (who had good political relations with Guffroy and was against Le Bon), caught my attention. It suggests his wife may have also been politically active:

“They [Maximilien and Augustin Robespierre] drove her [Charlotte] from their home because she didn’t share their views, because she visited my wife and spoke with citizens who were true friends of justice and truth. She even risked prosecution when Le Bon took her to Arras, and if not for Florent Guyot, who brought her back to Paris, she would have been imprisoned—because Le Bon’s associates had denounced her in their infernal club, which they called the Popular Society.”

I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE MADELINE

Ce qui nous impressionne dans une oeuvre d’art est bien rarement l’oeuvre en elle-même, mais l’idée que les autres s’en font, et c’est pourquoi sa valeur commerciale subit d’énormes changements.