By the spring of 1793 the French Revolution seemed at an impasse. It had not elevated the status or raised the living standards of the great mass of the common people. The menu peuple had become disillusioned and disheartened. Hébert paraphrased their disappointment in a bitter diatribe. ‘We no longer believe anyone … They steal from us, plunder us as in the past … There is no bread, foutre, at any price … We are without work … For four years now we have suffered. What have we gained from the Revolution?’

An assignat note of 100 livres had fallen in May 1793 to 52 per cent of its face value and plunged to 36 per cent the following month. Prices, as could be expected, had risen correspondingly. A rough estimate is that the cost of necessities, including rent, had risen about 100 per cent. Wages, too, had gone up but not in the same proportion as prices.

The military defeats suffered by the French in the spring of 1793 were aggravated by the defection of Dumouriez in April. This undermined still further the confidence of common soldiers and civilians alike in their commanders. As a result the armies of the first coalition successfully invaded France from all directions. Meanwhile, the Vendée was in revolt, and by June the insurgents were threatening Nantes. These military defeats, in turn, sharpened the party struggles that led to the confrontation between the Girondins and the Jacobins. The latter became convinced not only that the Girondin policies had to be defeated, but also that their advocates had to be ejected from the Convention. The question was how to do it.