Paper Summary:

This paper examines the areas and periods in which the peasants in the French countryside helped trigger the events that led to the French Revolution and then attempts to differentiate these periods from those during which the peasants were simply used as a manipulated mass by the political factions that were leading the country.

From the Paper:

"In order to approach and discuss the presence and import of the people during the French Revolution, we need to briefly have a look at their influence and actions before the Revolution. As David Andress, lecturer in Modern European History at the University of Portsmouth mentioned in one of his lectures, following an idea from Arlette Farge, "the presence of the crowd as witness was essential to the display of power central to absolutist notions of governance -- at executions, royal processions, religious and civil celebrations" (Andress, David). So, the 18th century was characterized by the presence of the crowd to different events, especially as a vote of confidence for the autocratic monarchy. However, it is important to emphasize the fact that this presence was controlled. Indeed, signs that this control was becoming looser and was not able to touch on all categories of citizens became obvious in the 1780s. Turbulences occurred in this decade, especially in the countryside, with brief repressions from the government."

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