544. The French Revolution: The September Massacres (Part 1)

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Mar 3, 2025

In the tumultuous atmosphere of 1792 Paris, fear and paranoia spark the horrific September Massacres. Tensions between revolutionary factions boil over, leading to brutal violence against prisoners. The episode uncovers chilling events, including the calculated executions and the tragic fate of marginalized individuals. With revolutionary fervor fueled by the threat of invasion and political strife, the narrative explores the thin line between justice and terror, revealing how the actions of ordinary citizens became draped in vengeance and chaos.

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ANECDOTE

Danton's Speech

Danton's speech on September 2, 1792, rallied the French against Prussian invaders.
His words, "il nous faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace," evoked Churchillian defiance.

INSIGHT

Paranoia in Paris

The Swiss Guard's massacre fueled Parisian anxieties about royalist conspiracies.
This led to increased arrests and a tense political climate.

ANECDOTE

Danton's Response to Verdun

Amidst Prussian advances and rumors of treason, Danton ordered the closure of Paris and the raising of volunteers.
His leadership momentarily calmed the city's fears.

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‘Still more traitors, still more treason…"

It is 1792 and France has been at war since April; it is not going well. In Paris, the Tuileries Palace has been stormed, and the royal family imprisoned. Meanwhile, tensions are rising between the main political factions of the Revolution, the Girondins and the Montagnard, led by the icy Maximilien Robespierre. The streets of Paris teem with armed young men - the Federes and the Sans-Culottes - responsible for the brutal slaughtering of the Swiss Guard earlier that year. They have arrested and imprisoned thousands of people. It is into this progressively febrile atmosphere of paranoia and fear that terrible news arrives: the Prussians, hungry for vengeance, have taken the fortress of Verdin. Rumours swirl of treason and betrayal from deep within Paris itself, and a new, chilling idea is raised to wash the city of counter revolutionaries once and for all: cleanse the prisons. So it is that on the 2nd of September, a group of Prisoners being escorted from one prison to another is stopped, and methodically hacked to death. The survivors face an impromptu tribunal before receiving the same treatment. Over the next few days, all prisoners across Paris are likewise judged, and many similarly damned and mutilated. A tide of bloodshed is rising, which will soon flood the streets of Paris, taking thousands of lives with it. Who will survive the massacre?

Join Dominic and Tom for the next series of the French Revolution, as they pick up this epic story - one of the most resounding and complex historical events of all time - with arguably the most horrific episode of the whole revolution: the September massacres…

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Producer: Theo Young-Smith

Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude

Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor

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