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September Massacres
French history [1792]
Quick Facts
- French:
- Massacres du Septembre or Journées du Septembre (“September Days”)
- Date:
- September 2, 1792 - September 6, 1792
- Context:
- French Revolution
September Massacres, mass killing of prisoners that took place in Paris from September 2 to September 6 in 1792—a major event of what is sometimes called the “First Terror” of the French Revolution. The massacres were an expression of the collective mentality in Paris in the days after the overthrow of the monarchy (August 10, 1792). The people believed that political prisoners were planning to rise up in their jails to join a counterrevolutionary plot. The actual killing began on September 2, when a group of prisoners being transferred to Abbaye prison (near Saint-Germain-des-Prés on the Left Bank) was attacked ...(100 of 216 words)