Maximilien Robespierre
August 1792

On 1 August, the Assembly voted on Carnot's proposal, enforcing the distribution of pikes to all citizens, excluding vagabonds. By 3 August, the mayor and 47 sections demanded the removal of the king. On 5 August Robespierre disclosed the discovery of a plan for the king to escape to Château de Gaillon. Aligning with Robespierre's stance, almost all sections in Paris rallied for the dethronement of the king and issued a decisive ultimatum. Brissot urged the preservation of the constitution, advocating against both the dethronement of the king and the election of a new assembly. On 7 August, Pétion proposed that Robespierre assist in facilitating the departure of Fédérés to pacify the capital, suggesting their more effective service at the front lines. Simultaneously, the Council of Ministers recommended the arrest of Danton, Marat and Robespierre should they attend the Jacobin club.

On 9 August, the commissionaires from several sections assembled in the town hall. Notably absent were Marat, Robespierre and Tallien. The dissolution of the municipal council of the city occurred at midnight. Sulpice Huguenin, a prominent figure among the sans-culottes of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, was appointed provisional president of the Insurrectionary Commune.

In the early hours of (Friday, 10 August) 30,000 Fédérés (volunteers hailing from the countryside) and sans-culottes (militant citizens from the Paris) orchestrated a successful assault upon the Tuileries. Robespierre considered it a triumph for the "passive" (non-voting) citizens. The Assembly, rattled by the events, suspended the king and sanctioned the election of a National Convention to supplant its authority. On the night of 11 August. Robespierre secured a position in the Paris Commune, representing the Section de Piques, his residential district. The governing committee advocated for the convening of a Convention, selected via universal male suffrage, tasked with establishing a new government and restructering France. Despite Camille Desmoulins' belief that the turmoil had concluded, Robespierre asserted that it marked merely the beginning. By 13 August, Robespierre openly opposed the reinforcement of the départements. Subsequently, Danton invited him to join the Council of Justice. Robespierre published the twelfth and final edition of Le Défenseur de la Constitution, serving as an account and political testament.

On 16 August, Robespierre submitted a petition to the Legislative Assembly, endorsed by the Paris Commune urging the establishment of a provisional Revolutionary Tribunal specifically tasked with dealing with perceived "traitors" and " enemies of the people ". The following day, he was appointed as one of eight judges for this tribunal. However, citing a lack of impartiality, Robespierre declined to preside over it. This decision drew criticism.

The Prussian army breached the French frontier on 19 August. To fortify defense, the Paris armed sections were integrated into 48 battalions of the National Guard under Santerre's command. The Assembly decreed that all the non-juring priests must leave Paris within a week and leave the country within two weeks. On 28 August, the assembly ordered a curfew for the next two days. The city gates were closed; all communication with the country was stopped. At the behest of Justice Minister Danton, thirty commissioners from the sections were ordered to search in every suspect house for weapons, munitions, swords, carriages, and horses. "As a result of this inquisition, more than 1,000 "suspects" were added to the immense body of political prisoners already confined in the jails and convents of the city". Marat and Robespierre both disliked Condorcet who proposed that the " enemies of the people " belonged to the whole nation and should be judged constitutionally in its name. On 30 August the interim minister of Interior Roland and Guadet tried to suppress the influence of the Commune because the sections had exhausted the searches. The Assembly, tired of the pressures, declared the Commune illegal and suggested the organisation of communal elections.

Robespierre was no longer willing to cooperate with Brissot and Roland. On Sunday morning 2 September the members of the Commune, gathering in the town hall to proceed the election of deputies to the National Convention, decided to maintain their seats and have Roland and Brissot arrested.
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