The Plain

As Marais (French le Marais = the swamp ), the moderate group of revolutionaries in the National Convention during the French Revolution .. referred disparagingly

In their early days they had with about 400 MPs more members than the competing mountain party. One of the leaders of the Revolution, Camille Desmoulins called the deputies who sat in the plane, also called " party of the phlegmatic ."

Name

The name comes from the lower seating positions in Parliament. In contrast to the party of the Mountain, which occupied the higher courts, members of these groups were sitting in the plane and were therefore commonly referred to as Plaine. Later they were called pejorative swamp. The Marais sat mostly from groups of commoners who had a liberal and republican basic setting, together. They were all connected with the events of 1789, felt the revolution as their work and wished the unity of all Republicans.

Members

Nevertheless, the group was very heterogeneous. Members included the Abbot Henri Grégoire and Emmanuel -Joseph Sieyès. Boissy d' Anglas Even and Jean -Jacques- Régis de Cambacérès were leaders. Others changed in 1793 to the camp of the mountain party such as Bertrand de Barère Vieuzac, Georges Couthon, Pierre Joseph Cambon, Lazare Carnot. But most of them manifested their opposition to Maximilien de Robespierre on 9 Thermidor.