Girondins

By Zia Akhtar

This is a dramatic reconstruction about the politics of survival in the French revolution. It was a conflict that threatened to devour its own children. The clash came about against the background of implementing the Rights of Man and the Citizen when the struggle to formulate the destiny of the French people, Europe and the rest of the world became a matter of intellectual debate and urgent action. This could only be achieved through a battle of wits against the Jacobins, their opponents on the left who considered themselves equally capable of leading the revolution.



In the aftermath of the revolution the Girondins or "provincials" were a faction who tried to light the path for humanity in the new political order. It was to give birth to the Empire of Liberty but before it could be attained a bloody labyrinth of intrigues had to be navigated, and the enemies of revolutionary France had to be defeated. The legacy of the ancien regime had to be met by purging of the old order and through consolidating the revolution.



The Girondin deputies were stationed in Paris which was the hub of the revolution and formed the government between 1792-3. They were diametrically opposed to the Jacobins whose support came from the irrepressible sans-cullotes whose power was based on insurrection and who were determined to set the agenda for the politicians. Of a high sounding abstract persuasion the deputies of the Girondins tried to rise above the common discourse and attempted to lay the foundations of a constitutional monarchy which is the inheritance today in much of contemporary Europe.



In this re-enactment the important events including the trial of King Louis XVI is narrated and historical material is relied upon to present the chronology. The Girondins were in the thick of the crises in much of the revolution's climax and as Parliamentarians their approach was a masterpiece of cautious idealism as they jockeyed for position against the Mountain, their Jacobin rivals, in the National Convention. It was logical that they would retire to Madame Roland’s salon from the National Assembly in Paris to reflect in conversation and formulate their strategy in order to retain their place as the academic elite of the revolutionary generation. This became a driving ambition for their romantic aspirations as a woken generation and it brought about a clash of personalities with the more radical deputies.



At a rational level this staged reconstruction deals with the events that happened more than two centuries ago, but it also adds a modern feel to the discussion. The concept of liberty, equality and fraternity and the sacrifices committed in its name come up for scrutiny as they were the crucial motivators of the French revolution. It gives this story its atmospheric tension and it works like a thriller which reflects its popular mood of a narrative that was for once influenced by the ordinary people.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zia Akhtar
• Release date: Jan 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781839784361

Book preview

Prologue

Tom Payne comes on stage and is holding a book in his hand. He stops, and then says

"There never did, there never will, and there never can, exist a Parliament, or any deputies of men, or any generation of men, in any country possessed of the right in the power of binding and controlling posterity to the end of time, or of commanding forever how the world shall be governed , or who shall govern it. Every age and generation must be free to act for itself in all cases in all ages and generations which preceded it .

These are the Rights of Man".

Rights of Man ( 1791)

Act 1 Sans-cullotes meeting.

There are 4 people sitting in a corner with red caps of liberty on their heads. They are wearing baggy red trousers.

Person 1 We are the sans-culottes. The poor of Paris, the working people and the wretched.

Person 2 ( He is talking and eating from a old loaf of bread .) It is the bread we need and I have only crumbs.

Person 3 The deputies sit there in their chambers and do nothing for the people. If they had come down and seen how the people live we can say there is a revolution.

Person 4 The hoarders and the middlemen who buy grain from farmers and sell at such high prices.

Person 1 We want the grain to be made available, prices to be fixed, and the wages to be increased for the working people.

Person 2 The deputies in the National Assembly have forgotten we made the revolution possible. It was us who storm ed the Bastille, on the 14 th of July when the prison fell where people were living in the dungeons Nobody even knew how many there were in the prison.

Person 2 The revolution it ours we made it but the bourgeois will take it from us and get all the new era that has come to France.

He waves the tricolour.

Person 3 Now the deputies think they can make the laws while the poor are still without the food, clothes other than their trades garments

He points to his trousers

Person 4 They guide the revolution not by hand or feet, but by reading Rousseau and Plutarch.

Person 1 Isn’ t he the one who wrote that Man is born free and is everywhere in chains.

Person 2 Oh Yes! Le Contrat sociale.

Person 3 Are you so well read ?

Person 4 No I just go to the clubs a lot. Listen to the speakers there.

Person 1 Ah the clubs !.

Person 2 There are so many clubs in Paris. Aren’t they ?

Person 3 It seems there is one for every deputy.

Person 4 What is the latest club to come into town?

Person 1 They call it the Jacobins. It used to be the Feullants, but they took over the Capuchin ministry of the Dominican chapel and now use it for their political debates. That is now the Jacobin club.

Person 2 Oh the Jacobins they are a funny lot. And most of them are from Paris. They will have some opposition from the Provinces very soon, when it comes to the elections for the Legislative Assembly.

Person 1 Ah, yes. There are deputies who are coming from the Provinces who will fight the corner of their people in the regions.

Person 2 There is one which will be very strong , they call it the department of Gironde. I am told it has many who can give the Parisian deputies a hard time.

Person 2 Yes --------

Suddenly there is sound of artillery.

Person 4 (Shaking) Are these guns the Royalists? I have heard rumours. Are the enemies coming back to Paris ?

Person 3 I think it may be the National Guard practising their drill.

Gravel falls on them.

Act 2 Danton, Desmoulins meet the enrages

Artillery rounds are firing in the background and there is darkness all around. Then suddenly there is a light focussed on a man, who comes forward. There is also another slowly coming up behind him.

The first man is stooped low and is watching over from where the noise is coming. He is called Danton. The second man who is holding a briefcase is his friend Desmoulins.

Danton Ah Camille, How are you ? My old friend. It is reassuring to have you here.

Desmoulins ( He speaks with sarcasm ) Why Monsieur Danton have you failed to recognise me today ?

Danton My God, cant you see Camille we are in a crises ? There is a threat of a counter revolution and our borders have been crossed by the enemy. The National Guard is firing on some of own people.

Desmoulins I am happy to see you. Even as the guns are blazing. Jacques you are in middle of a blaze of glory. Are you conducting the fireworks today ?

Danton No Camille. This is the chaos we are in. The result of so many groups all wanting to take over the running of France. All knowing they are the best for the country. They specialise in revolution but are conspiring to destroy