Massacre of Jacobin prisoners in Tarascon, June 1795

Robespierre’s death did not spell the end of the Reign of Terror. Thus, in the winter following 9 Thermidor, Year II (27 July 1794), counter-revolutionary movements in turn sowed terror by carrying out mass assassinations. Those who had been persecuted yesterday now found themselves facing their persecutors, and very quickly the roles were reversed. This ‘White Terror’ was particularly violent in the south-east of France.
In May 1795, in Lyon, more than 30,000 people slaughtered around a hundred prisoners. In Aix, Orange, Tarascon and Nîmes, men and women – former members of the revolutionary committees – were then summarily executed. The Terror had changed sides.