ABSTRACT
The end of the Terror was followed by a year of uncertainty. The loose coalition of the Thermidorians had in common only the fact that they wanted the Terror to end. Some of the most radical of the Committee of Public Safety, such as Collot and Billaud, joined with moderate members of the Convention who had been lucky to survive earlier purges, including Merlin de Thionville and Fréron, to bring down Robespierre and his regime. But finding a new structure proved less easy. The main aim was to avoid a renewal of dictatorship, and so the Law of 7 Fructidor II formalised the decision that the independent powers of the Committee of General Security should be restored, and one quarter of each of the great committees replaced each month. The first three members of the Committee of Public Safety to go were the left-wingers Collot, Billaud and Barère. After this, physiocratic principles were able more easily to replace those of dirigisme, and a moderate Constitution could be formulated.
