-From 1792-1794, these revolutionaries led the country with a rod of iron to save the Revolution. The French monarchy was abolished. Louis XVI, who had attempted to flee the capital in 1791, was executed in January 1793. The foreign armies were all defeated, but the regime governed by terror. The most intransigent of the revolutionaries, such as Robespierre had the moderates executed, under a pretext of accusations of treason. They went too far, and were executed in their turn in 1794. During this period, the people of Paris often made and remade decisions without taking into account the rest of France.

-1795-1799 was the period of the Directories. The executions ceased and the revolution ran out of steam. In order to avoid further drift towards an authoritarian regime, the new leaders adopted other institutions. They wanted to avoid all pressure from the Parisians over the Assembly. For example, a text had to be read three times before being voted on. The leaders did not have time to become dictators because the rule lasted too short a time. The result was that the regime was ungovernable. Only a coup d`Etat could advance matters.