During the French Revolution, kings and nobles were executed, but the majority of the killed people were ordinary citizens.

For many, mentioning the French Revolution conjures up images of wealthy aristocrats led to the guillotine. Thanks to countless films, books, and semi-forgotten history lessons, many are left with the impression that the revolution was primarily about chopping off the heads of kings, queens, dukes, and other wealthy aristocrats. But as we approach what is known in English as Bastille Day and in French as Quatorze Juillet - the dates marking the events of July14,1789, which symbolize the French Revolution - this widespread misconception should be corrected. In fact, most of the people executed during the French Revolution, especially during its perceived bloodiest period, the nine-month "Reign of Terror" between the fall of1793 and the summer of1794, were ordinary people.

As historian Donald Grir wrote, "more porters than princes were executed, more common workers than dukes and marquises, three or four times more servants than parliamentarians. Terror engulfed French society from the base to the top; its victims represent a full cross-section of the social order of the Ancien Régime."."

The guillotine was first used on April15,1792, when a common thief named Pelletier was executed. Initially considered a symbol of equality, the guillotine soon gained a grim reputation with its list of famous victims. Among those who perished under the "national razor" (the guillotine's nickname) were King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, many revolutionary leaders such as Georges Danton, Louis de Saint-Just, and Maximilien Robespierre. Scientist Antoine Lavoisier, pre-romantic poet André Chénier, feminist Olympe de Gouges, and legendary lovers Camille and Lucile Desmoulins were among its victims. But it wasn't just "celebrities" who were executed by the guillotine. Although reliable figures on the exact number of people executed during the revolution are hard to come by, historians typically estimate that between15,000 to17,000 individuals were guillotined across France. Most of this occurred during the "Reign of Terror." When it was decided to concentrate all (legal) executions in Paris, a total of1,376 people were guillotined in just47 days, from June10 to July27,1794. That's roughly30 people per day. Most of the executions took place during the "Reign of Terror."

However, the guillotine was only one of the ways to execute people. Historians estimate that about20,000 men and women were brutally killed - shot, stabbed, or drowned - during the Terror throughout France. They also estimate that in just five days in1792, about1,500 people died at the hands of Parisian mobs during the September Massacres. More broadly, about170,000 citizens died in the civil war in the Vendée, while over700,000 French soldiers perished between1792 and1815.

** During the Reign of Terror, why was so much blood shed? The regime's paranoia in1793-94 was the result of various factors. France was at war on its borders against a coalition led by Europe's monarchs to suppress the revolution before it could threaten their thrones. At the same time, civil war erupted in the west and south of France, rumors of conspiracies spread throughout the country, and political disagreements intensified in Paris between opposing factions. All these factors led to the adoption of a series of laws at the end of1793 allowing for accelerated judicial proceedings against thousands of people suspected of counterrevolutionary convictions. However, these measures, contained in the notorious "Law of Suspects," were softened in the summer of1794 and completely revoked in October1795. The fate of Queen Marie Antoinette and her numerous depictions in pop culture have influenced how many people think about the Revolution.

However, for many people, mentioning this period of French history evokes the vision of a bloodthirsty revolution, indiscriminately sending thousands of nobles to their deaths. This is largely associated with the fate of Queen Marie Antoinette and her numerous portrayals in pop culture. British counterrevolutionary propaganda in the1790s and1800s also helped popularize the idea that aristocrats were martyrs and the main victims of the executed revolutionaries. This perception was largely formed through the abundant publication in the19th century of memoirs and diaries of survivors and relatives of the victims, usually from the social and economic elite, fiercely opposed to the Revolution and its legacy. There is a much deeper legacy behind the guillotine and the Reign of Terror. The revolution destroyed entrenched privileges based on birth, imposed equality before the law, and opened the door to developing forms of democratic participation for ordinary citizens. The revolution ushered in a time of reforms in France, throughout Europe, and indeed, around the world.