HANRIOT, FRANOIS

born Dec. 3, 1759, Nanterre, near Paris, France died July 28, 1794, Paris commander in chief of the Paris national guard during the supremacy of the Jacobin Club extremists, led by Robespierre, in the French Revolution. A partisan of the Revolution from the start, Hanriot showed great courage in the rising of Aug. 10, 1792, after which he was elected commandant of the sansculotte section of the Paris national guard. His coolness and military ability were decisive in the overthrow of the moderate revolutionary group called the Girondins in MayJune 1793. On May 31 the Paris Commune appointed him provisional commander in chief of the Paris national guard, and on June 2 he surrounded the Convention (national assembly) with 80,000 armed men and 160 cannons and so compelled it to decree the arrest of 29 Girondin deputies. Although most of the intended victims escaped arrest, they no longer sat in the Convention; for his part in their expulsion, Hanriot was elected permanent commander in chief of the guard, thanks to the favour of the extremist sections. A loyal supporter of Robespierre in his persecution of opponents (the Terror, 179394), Hanriot fell from power with his chief in July 1794 (the Thermidorian reaction), and they were guillotined together.