! ! ! ! ! Popular!Rumour!in!Revolutionary!Paris:!! 1792–1794! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Lindsay!Porter! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! PhD!! University!of!York! History! September!2014 ! Abstract( ! Rumours!thrive!in!periods!of!social!and!political!unrest;!the!combination!of! uncertainty!and!upheaval!and!a!demand!for!information!creates!a!crucible! for!the!spread!of!unsubstantiated!news.!In!such!situations,!even! unconfirmed!reports!serve!a!purpose,!allowing!communities!to!give!voice!to! their!anxieties!and!hopes.!! ! An!examination!of!the!role!and!impact!of!rumour!during!the!French! Revolution!has!the!potential!to!shed!new!light!on!the!experiences!of!those! who!lived!through!it.!Focussing!on!Paris!during!the!most!radical!years!of! Jacobinism,!this!thesis!explores!the!ways!in!which!informal!communication! networks!helped!to!shape!popular!perceptions!of!the!Revolution.!! ! Adopting!a!different!approach!from!Georges!Lefebvre’s!classic!study,!this! thesis!explores!the!role!of!rumour!as!a!phenomenon!in!itself.!It!investigates! the!way!in!which!the!informal!authority!of!the!on#dit!!(‘they!say’)!of!the!street! was!subject!to!a!range!of!historical!and!contemporary!prejudices!and!the! extent!to!which!it!was!monitored!by!the!authorities.!!Drawing!its!conclusions! from!a!close!reading!of!the!police!archives!in!Paris,!this!thesis!examines!the! potential!of!rumour!to!unite!communities!but!also!to!divide!them,!as!the! power!of!on#dit!began!to!play!an!important!role!in!denunciations. ! 2! ! Contents' ! Abstract! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 2! Acknowledgements! ! ! ! ! ! ! 4! Author’s!Declaration!! ! ! ! ! ! 5! ! Introduction! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 6! ! Chapter!I!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 51! ‘Prenez!garde!Citoyens!’:!!Policing!Popular!Rumour! !!!!!! ! Chapter!II!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 89! ‘Un!bruit!de!frayeur!se!répand’:!Informal!Communication!! Networks!and!the!Creation!of!Rumour! ! Chapter!III!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 130! Rumour,!Riots,!Feasts!and!Famines!! ! Chapter!IV!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 164! Rumour!and!Community:!Solidarity!and!Conflict!in!the!! SansRCulotte!Neighbourhoods!of!Year!II!! ! Chapter!V!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 205! Rumour,!Reputation!and!Identity! ! Chapter!VI!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 241! Rumour,!Denunciation!and!Terror!! ! Conclusion! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 280! ! Appendix!A:!The$Public$Promenade!! ! ! ! 285! Appendix!B:!Map!of!the!Sections!of!Revolutionary!Paris!!!!!!!!!! 286! Bibliography! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 287! ! 3! ! Acknowledgements' ! It!was!my!incredible!good!fortune!to!have!written!this!under!the!supervision! of!Professor!Alan!Forrest.!His!calm!direction,!unflagging!enthusiasm!and! good!humour!helped!me!to!navigate!the!winding!byways!of!on$dit$without! losing!my!way!or!my!will.! ! The!AHRC!provided!funding!as!well!as!a!travel!grant,!which!facilitated!an! extended!period!of!research!in!the!archives!in!Paris.!Thank!you!to!the!helpful! staff!at!the!French!National!Archives,!the!Bibliothèque!Nationale,!the! Bibliothèque!Historique!de!la!Ville!de!Paris!and,!most!particularly,!the! Archives!de!Préfecture!de!Police!de!Paris.!Thank!you,!too,!to!the!Special! Collections!staff!at!the!John!Rylands!Library!at!the!University!of!Manchester.! ! The!lively!academic!community!at!the!University!of!York,!particularly!the! Centre!for!Eighteenth!Century!Studies,!was!an!inspiring!and!supportive! environment!in!which!to!present!and!discuss!work!in!progress.! ! I!am!grateful!for!the!valuable!feedback!and!encouragement!that!was!offered! at!academic!conferences!and!forums,!particularly!from!Colin!Jones,!and!from! the!community!at!the!Conspiracy!and!Democracy!research!project!at! CRASSH!in!Cambridge.!The!workshop!organised!by!Alex!FairfaxRCholmely!at! the!John!Rylands!Library!in!Manchester,!‘Finding!Order!in!Revolution’,! coincided!with!the!conclusion!of!this!thesis,!and!the!papers!and!discussions! that!took!place!helped!to!consolidate!many!of!the!observations!within.! Timothy!Tackett!and!David!Andress!offered!insightful!comments!on!sections! of!earlier!drafts.! ! Finally,!friends!and!family!have!been!remarkably!enthusiastic!about!this! project!since!its!inception,!and!if!they!ever!tired!of!hearing!about!the!obscure! corners!of!the!police!archives!of!Paris!they!managed!to!disguise!it!with!the! cunning!of!counterRrevolutionary!conspirators.!Most!supportive!of!all!were!–! and!continue!to!be!–!Peter!and!Elspeth.!My!heartfelt!thanks!to!you. ! 4! ! Declaration! I declare that this thesis is a presentation of original work and I am the sole author. This work has not previously been presented for an award at this, or any other, University. All sources are acknowledged as References. ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ! 5! ! Introduction* * * Les!femmes!disaient!que!l’intention!des!conspirateurs!était!de!les! empoisonner,!en!introduisant!dans!Paris!une!certaine!quantité!de! farine!préparée!à!cet!effet.!Je!souhaite!que!ce!ne!soit!là!qu’un!soupçon! de!femmes!patriotes;!mais!ne!pourrait>il!pas!se!faire!que!les! aristocrates!répandissent!exprès!ce!bruit!dans!Paris,!pour!inspirer!au! peuple!des!défiances!sur!l’approvisionnement!déjà!fait!ou!à!faire,! pour!le!mener!plus!sûrement!et!en!quelque!sorte!volontairement!à!la! famine.1! ! Rapport!de!Perrière,!1!germinal,!an!II* ! Rumours!flourish!in!times!of!anxiety;!they!thrive!on!ambiGuity!and! uncertainty,!filling!the!void*left!by!lack!of!information.*They!are!an! articulation!of!fear,!of!hope,!or!of!desire.!Rumours!spread!because!they!are! believed,!at!some!level,!to!be!true;!in!expressinG!them!communities!are!able! to!share!a!collective!concern.!As!such,!the!subject!of!a!rumour,!and!the! reaction!of!the!participants!to!that!rumour,!can!reveal!a!Great!deal!about! society’s!fears,!values!and!desires.! ! An!examination!of!the!role!of!rumour!durinG!the!French!Revolution!permits! an!entry!into!the!collective!concerns!of!the!communities!that!lived!throuGh! it.!It!opens!up!questions!about!what!stories!were!believed!and!how!they! spread,!and!what!repercussions!–!if!any!–!followed.!It!allows!an!investigation! into!notions!of!trust!–!whose!story!is!the!most!plausible!and!why!–!and!of! Group!dynamics,!as!the!acceptance!or!rejection!of!a!rumour!unites!or! separates!members!of!a!community.!It!also!allows!us!to!investiGate!how!they! were!recorded!and!interpreted!and!why.! ! The!above!report,!supplied!by!one!‘citizen!observer’,!one!of!the!network!of! spies!employed!by!the!Minister!of!the!Interior!durinG!a!period!from!1792!to! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1!Pierre!Caron,!Paris&pendant&la&Terreur:&Rapports&des&agents&secrets&du&Ministre&de&l’Intérieur& Publiés&pour&la&Société&d’histoire&contemporaine!(Paris:!Librairie!Alphonse!Picard!et!Fils,! 1910),!vol.!VI!p!89.!Rapport!de!Perrière,!1!Germinal,!an!II.! ! ! 6! ! 1794,!contains!many!elements!characteristic!of!rumour!–!and!of!official! attitudes!towards!rumour!–!during!this!time.!It!refers!to!the!group!sharing! the!rumour!‘les!femmes’;!it!refers!to!the!protagonists!of!the!rumour!–!the! recently!arrested!Hébertistes,!recast!as!‘les!conspirateurs’,!whose!plot!to! poison!the!city!by!the!introduction!of!contaminated!Bread!is!the!suBject!of! the!rumour.!It!also!reveals!the!authorities’!uncertainty!aBout!the!origins!of! the!rumour:!has!it!Been!conjured!from!the!collective!anxieties!of!‘les!femmes! patriotes’!or!is!it!evidence!of!something!more!sinister!–!a!counter> revolutionary!tactic!to!destaBilise!the!citizenry!By!spreading!suspicion!aBout! the!provisioning!of!the!city?!These!questions!are!at!the!heart!of!this!thesis.! ! Rumour*studies* From!the!outset,!it!is!necessary!to!estaBlish!what!is!meant!By!rumour.! Rumour!is!not!simply!a!synonym!for!gossip,!although!rumour!and!gossip!can! at!times!Be!connected.!(Recent!scholarship!has!suggested!that!even!among! specialists!there!is!no!consensus!aBout!how!the!two!differ,!and!so!for!the! purposes!of!this!thesis!I!will!attempt!to!define!a!set!of!criteria.)2!Rumour!is! not!only!transmitted!By!word!of!mouth,!But!can!Be!communicated!through! just!aBout!any!media:!in!print,!in!song,!through!popular!imagery!and! cartoons!or!through!satire.!There!is!a!popular!perception!that!rumours!are! spread!By!gossiping!women,3!thus!Belittling!Both!the!rumours!and!the! participants!equally,!But!rumours!can!and!have!Been!transmitted!By! authoritative!news!sources!as!easily!as!by!individuals.4!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2!Nicholas!DiFonzo!and!Prashant!Bordia,!‘Rumor,!Gossip!and!UrBan!Legends’,!Diogenes,!vol.! 54,!No.!1!(2007),!pp.!19>35,!note!that!the!two!are!often!used!interchangeaBly,!Both! colloquially!and!among!scholars.! ! 3!A!recent!corrective!to!this!view!is!Nicholas!Hammond’s!Gossip,&Sexuality&and&Scandal&in& France,&1610–1715!(Oxford!and!New!York:!Peter!Lang,!2011),!which!examines!gossip!and! same>sex!relationships.! ! 4!At!the!height!of!the!hoof>and>mouth!disease!outBreak!in!Britain!in!2001,!many!reports!in! the!US!media!confused!the!disease!(communicaBle!among!livestock!to!whom!it!can!Be!fatal)! with!hand>foot>and>mouth!disease,!a!less!serious!viral!infection!affecting!humans.! Colloquially,!and!confusingly,!Both!are!known!as!foot>and>mouth!disease.!In!addition,!public! perceptions!of!both!were!affected!by!the!long!shadow!cast!by!the!alarmingly!titled!‘mad! cow’!disease,!Bovine!Spongiform!Encephalopathy,!leading!to!concerns!in!the!United!States! that!Europe!was!undergoing!an!epidemic!threatening!to!human!health.!(Bryan!Garner,! Garner’s&American&Usage,![Oxford!University!Press,!2009],!p.364,!descriBes!various!uses!of! the!term!in!print!media.)!A!different!example!of!the!mainstream!media!contriButing!to! ! 7! ! Gossip!and!rumour!have!some!qualities!in!common,!but!also!some!