The French Revolution: the execution of kings and nobles, with many common people as victims.

For many, the mention of the French Revolution evokes images of wealthy nobles being led to the guillotine. Thanks to countless films, books, and half-forgotten history lessons, many are left with the impression that the revolution was mainly about the beheading of kings, queens, dukes, and other rich aristocrats. However, as we approach what is known in English as Bastille Day and in French as Quatorze Juillet - a date symbolizing the French Revolution - it is worth correcting this common misconception.

In fact, most of the people executed during the French Revolution, especially in its perceived bloodiest period of the nine months known as the "Reign of Terror" between the fall of 1793 and the summer of 1794, were ordinary people.

As historian Donald Greer wrote: "[...] more coachmen were executed than princes, more day laborers than dukes and marquises, three or four times more servants than parliamentarians. Terror engulfed French society from the bottom to the top; its victims represent a complete cross-section of the social order of the Ancien Régime."

Read more: What is Bastille Day and why is it celebrated? The "National Razor," the guillotine, was first used on April 15, 1792, during the execution of a common thief named Pelletier. However, despite the fact that the guillotine was initially seen as a tool of equality, it soon gained a grim reputation due to the list of well-known victims. Among those who perished under the "National Razor" (the nickname for the guillotine) were King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, many revolutionary leaders such as Georges Danton, Louis de Saint-Just, and Maximilien Robespierre. The scientist Antoine Lavoisier, the pre-Romantic poet André Chénier, feminist Olympe de Gouges, and the legendary lovers Camille and Lucie Desmoulins were among its victims. But it wasn't just "celebrities" who were executed by the guillotine.

Despite the difficulty in finding reliable data on the exact number of executions during the Revolution, historians generally estimate that between 15,000 and 17,000 people were executed by guillotine across France. Most of this occurred during the Reign of Terror. When the decision was made to centralize all (legal) executions in Paris, a total of 1,376 people were executed in just 47 days, from June 10 to July 27, 1794. That's about 30 per day.

The guillotine was not the only method.

However, the guillotine is just one of the methods of execution. Historians estimate that around 20,000 men and women were ruthlessly killed—either shot, stabbed, or drowned—during the Terror across France. They also estimate that in just five days, during the September Massacres of 1792, 1,500 people were killed by Parisian mobs. More broadly, about 170,000 citizens died in the civil wars in the Vendée, while over 700,000 French soldiers perished between 1792 and 1815.

Overall, Greer estimates that 8.5% of the victims of the Terror belonged to the nobility, 6.5% to the clergy, and 85% to the Third Estate (that is, neither clergy nor nobility). Women made up 9% of the total number (but 20% and 14% in the categories of nobility and clergy, respectively). Priests who refused to swear allegiance to the Revolution, emigrants, fugitives, hoarders and speculators who drove the price of bread much higher, or political opponents of the moment - all of them were considered "enemies of the Revolution."

Why was so much blood shed during the Reign of Terror?

The paranoia of the regime in 1793-94 was the result of various factors. France was waging war on its borders against a coalition led by the monarchs of Europe, aiming to crush the revolution at its roots before it could threaten their thrones. At the same time, a civil war broke out in the west and south of France, rumors of conspiracy spread throughout the country, and political struggles intensified in Paris between opposing factions. All these factors led to the adoption at the end of 1793 of a series of laws allowing for expedited trials of thousands of people suspected of counter-revolutionary beliefs. However, the measures contained in the infamous "Law of Suspects" were softened in the summer of 1794 and completely repealed in October 1795.

The fate of Queen Marie Antoinette and her numerous depictions in pop culture have influenced how many people perceive the Revolution. Capture with watercolor of the engraving by C. Silalio after Aloysius, 1793/Wellcome Collection

How did the focus on executed nobles arise?

For many people, however, the mention of this period in French history evokes visions of a bloodthirsty Revolution ruthlessly sending thousands of nobles to their deaths. This is largely due to the fate of Queen Marie Antoinette and her numerous portrayals in pop culture. British counter-revolutionary propaganda in the 1790s and 1800s also contributed to the popularization of the idea that aristocrats were martyrs and the main victims of revolutionary executions. This perception was primarily shaped by the abundant publication in the 19th century of memoirs and diaries of survivors and relatives of the victims, usually from the socio-economic elite, who were firmly opposed to the Revolution and its legacy.

Broader heritage

Outside of the guillotine and the Reign of Terror, the legacy of the revolution runs much deeper. The revolution abolished entrenched privileges based on birth, introduced equality before the law, and opened doors for emerging forms of democratic participation by ordinary citizens. The revolution laid the groundwork for reforms in France, across Europe, and indeed, around the world.