#florence gauthier

[montagnarde1793]

par Florence Gauthier

Éclairer le contexte qui a incité Claude Rouget de Lisle (ou de l’Isle, on trouve les deux orthographes) à écrire les paroles et la musique de cette chanson en avril 1792. Les chansons sont difficiles à comprendre quand elles touchent des événements dont on ne connaît plus le détail qui les ont suscitées et, ici, il s’agit de l’intime de la sensibilité politique et cosmopolitique de l’époque révolutionnaire, comme je me propose de le préciser.

[rbzpr]

Currently reading (#23):

Triomphe et mort de la révolution des droits de l’homme et du citoyen : 1789-1795-1802 (Florence Gauthier)

« ...forgetfulness and contempt of the natural rights of man                                          are the sole causes of the miseries of the world... »

 – Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1793

This book, which was published by Éditions Syllepse in 2014, is a re-edition of Florence Gauthier’s Triomphe et mort du droit naturel en révolution, 1789-1795-1802, which appeared in 1992. (Apart from a new introduction, this edition is identical with the first one.) Gauthier sets out to explore the concept of droit naturel and its influences on revolutionary ideology ; therein, she breaks with the traditional approaches of historiography, while offering an alternative and highly original framework of analysis.

The first part of Gauthier’s book deals with the concepts of droit naturel and citizenship that were advanced by prominent thinkers of the Enlightenment (Mably, Rousseau and Locke, notably), as well as with their understandings of terms such as liberty, equality or property. Mably’s concept of property is particularly interesting, as it establishes a clear distinction between material property, property in one's person (i.e. personal liberty), and the property of the citizen (i.e. liberty in society, sovereignty) – thereby constructing a close connection between property and citizenship. Gauthier explores how these concepts shaped the political and ideological struggles of the Revolution, especially concerning the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.

In the second part, Gauthier studies how the philosophy of droit naturel (expressed in the concept of the droit à l’existence) came into conflict with the doctrine of economic liberty (which was upheld by force of martial law and the Le Chapelier Law, for instance). The author focuses on the ideology of Robespierre, whose concept of économie politique populaire synthesised economic theory with the concept of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ; moreover, she explores the various debates concerning droit naturel at the National Convention – shedding light upon the Girondins’ ideological break with natural right, which brought about the journées of 31 May - 2 June 1793 and the fall of the Gironde –, as well as the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1793. The second part is closed with some insightful clarifications on the theory and practice of the Revolutionary Government.

The third part deals with the universality of natural right, and the fraternity and cosmopolitanism that are implied by it. This revolutionary philosophy of the droits naturels des peuples is directly opposed to the doctrine of national interest, which has served to justify wars of conquest, colonialist policies and slavery. Gauthier particularly focuses on Robespierre’s attitude towards wars of conquest and cosmopolitanism, as well as on his understanding of terms such as fraternity and patrie. She demonstrates how the concept of popular sovereignty challenged the dominant doctrine of colonial exploitation in the relations of metropolitan France with Corsica and Saint-Domingue ; in this context, a new understanding of the droit des gens took shape, which found its expression in the politics of confederation of the “new peoples” of Corsica and Saint-Domingue with the people of France. The book studies the debates on slavery in the successive legislative bodies of revolutionary France, as well as the influence of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen on the revolution of Saint-Domingue. A particular focus lies on the Montagnard Constitution of 1793 and the abolition of slavery of 4 February 1794, which inaugurated a new and egalitarian pact between the peoples of France and Saint-Domingue. Gauthier also examines the so-called “cas Robespierre”, which is often grossly misinterpreted, as well as the various measures of the Committee of Public Safety in the aftermath of the abolition of slavery, and the extremely reactionary politics and activities of the colonialist party.

In the fourth and last part, Gauthier studies the defeat of the philosophy of droit naturel, as well as the aftermath of the Revolution of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Following the events of Thermidor and the elimination of the “Robespierrists” (to which the colonialist party and other enemies of the philosophy of natural right greatly contributed, as the author emphasises), the révolution du droit naturel was obliterated in France and in the former colonies, and the egalitarian ré-publique was turned into a ré-privée of the privileged few: the Constitution of the Year III, which was installed through a parliamentary coup d’état, reintroduced censitary suffrage and colonialist exploitation (based on Boissy d’Anglas’ “the theory of the rights of northern men to dominate the world”, as Gauthier calls it). The chapter studies the increasingly reactionary policies of the Directory, Consulate and Empire (culminating in Bonaparte’s reintroduction of slavery in 1802), as well as the developments in Saint-Domingue and the struggle for Haitian independence.

In my eyes, this is an excellent and extraordinarily original book. Apart from offering many insightful clarifications and repudiating some common tropes (e.g. the depiction of the French Revolution as a “bourgeois revolution” ; the constructed dichotomy between the concepts of liberty and equality, as well as between economic liberalism and statist dirigisme ; the popular image of a centralised “Jacobin dictatorship”), Gauthier explores the humanist and egalitarian révolution des droits naturels, which began in 1789 and found its end in the aftermath of 9 Thermidor, Year II. Through her emphasis on the philosophy of droit naturel, Gauthier manages the restore the complexity of the Revolution, breaking with the approaches of traditional historiography – across the spectrum, from Furet to Soboul. As Yannick Bosc observes in his review of this book, she thereby lays the foundations for another history of the French Revolution, which, in my eyes is destined for a great future.

What do you think, citizens?

[montagnarde1793]

Albert Mathiez, Robespierre et la république sociale, Paris, Éditions Critiques, 2018, 368 p., introduction de Yannick Bosc et Florence Gauthier. L'ouvrage regroupe les principaux textes que Mathiez a consacrés à Robespierre. Nous proposons ici l'un d'entre eux, intitulé "Robespierre", une conférence organisée par le Groupe Fraternel du XIIIe et par la 7e Commission de l'USTICA (Union syndicale des techniciens de l'industrie, du commerce et de l'agriculture), publiée en 1924 par les éditions de la Maison des Jeunes.

[montagnarde1793]

Sur le site des Editions Critiques, vidéos dans lesquelles Yannick Bosc et Florence Gauthier présentent le recueil d'articles d'Albert Mathiez, Révolution russe et Révolution française, qu'ils ont introduit.

Grand historien de la Révolution française, Albert Mathiez fut aussi un intellectuel engagé, un partisan intransigeant de la démocratie sociale qui s’enthousiasma pour la révolution russe. Ces vingt-deux articles écrits au fil des événements analysent sur le vif ce séisme social et politique. Des journées de février 1917 jusqu’à la fin de la guerre civile, l’auteur tisse l’analogie avec la Révolution française. Dans les deux cas, il observe la force motrice des mouvements populaires, à contre-courant des interprétations selon lesquelles les révolutions appliquent des théories.

[montagnarde1793]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO8TCOMU2i8)

Un très beau discours, malgré quelques inexactitudes et raccourcis somme toute mineurs (surtout pour un discours politique) : sur la nature des Amis des noirs, sur l’identification des deux abolitions de l’esclavage de l’an II et de 1848, sur le rétablissement de l’esclavage attribué à l’Empire au lieu du Consulat (mais bon, c’est toujours Bonaparte le responsable), enfin sur la phrase “Périssent les colonies plutôt qu’un principe !” qu’on attribue à Robespierre, alors que sa formulation a été un peu différent : “Périssent les Colonies s’il doit vous en coûter votre bonheur, votre gloire, votre liberté !” Mais cette dernière inexactitude surtout n’est pas très grave, vu que l’esprit est le même.

(C’est Camille Desmoulins qui s’est approché de plus près de la formule célèbre en commentant le débat à l’Assemblée dans son journal : “périssent les colonies s’il faut leur sacrifier les principes” (voir à ce sujet l’article de Florence Gauthier, “Périssent les colonies plutôt qu’un principe ! De Jaucourt à Marx en passant par Robespierre et Desmoulins” in Florence Gauthier, dir., Périssent les colonies plutôt qu’un principe ! Contributions à l’histoire de l’abolition de l’esclvage, 1789-1804, Paris, SER, 2002, p. 91-103).)

[montagnarde1793]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFu0NPHLets)

[montagnarde1793]

Extrait de la préface, rédigée par Florence Gauthier, pour la réédition de l'ouvrage qu'elle a dirigé avec Guy Ikni, La guerre du blé au XVIIIe siècle. La critique populaire de la liberté économique, Paris, Kimé, 2019, 332 p.

[montagnarde1793]

par Florence Gauthier