Here is what Elisabeth Le Bas writes in her memoirs after learning that Guffroy had made slanderous remarks about her to her future husband, Philippe Le Bas:
“This wicked man was poorly regarded in more than one respect; he did nothing but speak ill of everyone. He was despised by all and disliked by his colleagues. He was, I believe, a deputy for the Pas-de-Calais department, but I never saw him at my father’s house. The two Robespierre brothers held him in great contempt.”
Elisabeth Le Bon, imprisoned like her husband—and whom Guffroy would do everything to destroy, even resorting to slandering the couple—wrote to her husband Joseph Le Bon regarding Guffroy’s pamphlets:
“The masterpiece of falsehood you mentioned hasn’t reached me yet, but I am sure it will. I do not need to see that monster’s works to know what to think of him. I am no more curious to read what he says about me than what he says about other patriots. Still, I must praise him—it seems he is becoming an honest man. Follow his actions and you will see: he has not strayed for even a minute in the past nine months from serving his paymasters. Write on, sir, keep buying calumnies—the true patriot finds comfort in the good he has done.”
Later, after reading one of Guffroy’s volumes, she wrote again to her husband:
“You were right to tell me I was not spared. But he is a crude liar. Fortunately, his career will soon be over, for even his clients will abandon him. The aristocrats will not be pleased with his work; for their money, he ought to have given them something better.”
As for Marie-Anne Babeuf, the wife of Gracchus Babeuf, she initially helped print her husband’s writings at Guffroy’s press after Thermidor, spending so much time there that Gracchus wrote:
“My wife (Marie-Anne) and my son, aged nine—both as devoted and republican as their husband and father—assist me in every possible way. They make the same sacrifices. They spend day and night at Guffroy’s print shop, folding, distributing, and dispatching the newspaper. Our home is abandoned. Two younger children, one only three years old (likely Camille and Sophie, the latter having died of malnutrition), are left alone, locked inside for a month. This neglect causes them to waste away, yet they utter no complaints; they already seem filled with patriotic love and prepared to make all sacrifices. No meals are cooked anymore; during the publication period, we lived on bread, grapes, and nuts.”
However, a rift eventually developed and led to a complete break for two reasons. First, Gracchus Babeuf attacked Fréron and André Dumont, two allies of Guffroy. Second, he accused Guffroy of stealing from him, and Marie-Anne likely confronted Guffroy about this.
In issue no. 27 of his journal, Babeuf wrote:
“Guffroy shamelessly steals from me. He reaps all the rewards of my labor. My earliest issues were printed in duplicate; he sold many copies, kept all the revenue, accepted all subscriptions—and I never saw a single penny.”
Evidence of Guffroy’s guilt may also be found in a letter sent to Babeuf on 21 Vendémiaire, which included this postscript:
“The previous issues are our joint property. However, your wife (Marie-Anne) took them against my wishes. They will all be yours if you pay me for the printing.”
The dispute escalated to the point that Guffroy expelled Marie-Anne and Émile and declared to them that he would denounce Gracchus, to the Committee of General Security—a threat he carried out.
Yet months later, when Gracchus was imprisoned, he wrote insincere letters of friendship (notably in hopes of being released) to several figures, including Guffroy, on Marie-Anne’s advice. This does not seem to have worked, as Guffroy’s wife gave Marie-Anne a hostile reception.
I wonder whether Elisabeth Le Bon, Elisabeth Le Bas, and Marie-Anne Babeuf interacted much with one another. We know that Émile Le Bon, son of Elisabeth Le Bon, got along well with Philippe Le Bas junior; moreover, Philippe Le Bas and Joseph Le Bon were friends, and both women remained loyal to their husbands’ names and political legacies. Like the others, Marie-Anne Babeuf never abandoned her husband’s name, even during periods when it was dangerous to keep it.
Gracchus was very close to Elisabeth Le Bon and Darthé (who were themselves friends with Philippe Le Bas), while the Duplay family had ties to the Babouvist conspiracy. Given that Marie-Anne Babeuf acted as his liaison, political adviser, and close collaborator, it would not be surprising if connections existed between these circles.
Furthermore, although Émile Babeuf later wrote an article on Philippe Le Bas that Philippe Le Bas Jr. considered very poor, Buonarroti wrote to Émile in 1830 asking, among other things, for news of Elisabeth Le Bas and the Duplay family.
Interestingly, both Marie-Anne Babeuf and Elisabeth Le Bon were viewed very negatively by certain Napoleonic authorities and were kept under close surveillance.
There would, however, be a major point of divergence between Marie-Anne Babeuf and Elisabeth Le Bon. The former would have had no scruples about helping her allies and political friends escape if she deemed it necessary (after all, Gracchus had entrusted her with his own escape attempt, and she covered for him several times whenever he fled from the judicial authorities pursuing him). Elisabeth Le Bon, on the other hand, was a fervent legalist, like her husband. For her, whether a person was innocent, guilty, or unjustly persecuted, they should not escape but instead face their trial. Hence her disappointment when she learned that Vadier, a man she seems to hold in high regard, had escaped.
In any case, one can imagine the conversation these three women might have had about Guffroy, if such a meeting ever took place.
To learn more about the collaboration and eventual break between the Babeuf couple and Guffroy, see: https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/780339711912869888/the-collaboration-and-eventual-break-between?source=share
For a detailed look at Babeuf’s false letters of friendship (including those addressed to Guffroy), as well as Marie-Anne’s letter about her visit to the Guffroy couple, see: https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/813012577104871424/the-fake-letters-of-friendship-written-by?source=share
For more on the life of Émile Babeuf and his trajectory from a revolutionary child to a reactionary royalist, see: https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/797365648777953280/the-beginning-of-the-revolutionary-period?source=share
For more on the life of Elisabeth Le Bon, see: https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/796013800067416064/elisabeth-le-bon-loyal-companion-in-the-struggle?source=share
For links to documents explaining in detail the conflict between Joseph Le Bon and Guffroy, see: https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/780574222159331328/links-to-documents-on-the-le-bon-vs-guffroy?source=share
For more on the life of Darthé, see: https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/812915014177636352/hello-i-am-glad-to-read-your-blog-and-learn-new?source=share
