Thermidor [key], 11th month of the French Revolutionary calendar. The coup of 9 Thermidor (July 27, 1794) marked the downfall of Robespierre and the end of the Reign of Terror. The men who came into power were members of the old bourgeoisie and the newly rich who had profited from speculation and inflation. Extravagance in dress and manner prevailed. The Jacobins were suppressed, but the royalists did not gain power. The Thermidorians removed economic controls, thus unleashing inflation, and established some freedom of worship. The principal figures in the so-called Thermidorian reaction included Barras and Tallien. The period ended with the establishment of the Directory (1795).
See A. Mathiez, The Thermidorian Reaction (1929, tr. 1930).
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