ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the political and social consequences of the overthrow of Robespierre and the “thermidorian reaction.” It describes the consequences of republican France’s military expansion from 1794 to 1799. The chapter analyzes the reasons for the Directory regime’s inability to win broad public support. The “thermidorian reaction” turned against the social and economic policies adopted in 1793. The Convention repealed the maximum and left prices free to find their own levels. The defeat of the popular movement accelerated the reaction against everything associated with the radical phase of the Revolution. The political leaders of the Directory lacked the stature of their predecessors under the National Assembly and the Convention. Paul Barras, a corrupt thermidorian Convention deputy who served on the five-man Executive Directory throughout its existence, symbolized their shortcomings. Although the Directory took some important steps to stabilize conditions inside France, its most striking achievements were military and diplomatic.
