Jerome Petion Biography and Timeline

Election for Chartres

Chartres electors chose Petion for the Third Estate, beginning his prominent role in the revolutionary assemblies.

Role range: 1789-1792

Petion Press Freedom Proposal during Rights Debate

Petion supports explicit legal protection for freedom of the press while the Assembly debates civil liberties.

Role range: 1789-1792

Press Freedom Motion

Petion supported explicit legal protection for freedom of the press during debates on civil liberties.

Role range: 1789-1792

Royal Title Proposal

Petion proposed describing Louis XVI as king of the French by consent of the nation rather than by divine grace.

Role range: 1789-1792

Popular Sovereignty

Petion and other members debate constitutional monarchy representation and popular sovereignty within the club

Role range: 1789-1795

Popular Sovereignty

Petion and other members debate constitutional monarchy representation and popular sovereignty within the club.

Role range: 1789-1795

President of National Assembly

Deputies selected Petion to chair the Assembly for a term beginning in December 1790.

Role range: 1789-1792

Jacobin Debates Consider Municipal Democracy

Petion participated in discussion about the relationship between municipal government and national sovereignty. The club helped translate local political disputes into national questions.

Role range: 1789-1792

Petion joins royal escort - Security consequence

Jerome Petion figured in events surrounding petion joins royal escort at Paris. His presence gave the mission a deputy associated with more democratic opinion. The incident revealed how policing, local officials and transport delays could defeat the royal escape plan.

Role range: 1789-1792

Petion joins royal escort

Pétion was appointed to the parliamentary delegation accompanying Louis XVI and his family back to the capital. His presence gave the mission a deputy associated with more democratic opinion.

Role range: 1789-1792

Escort

Petion is sent as an Assembly commissioner to accompany the royal family back toward Paris

Role range: 1789-1792

Escort

Petion is sent as an Assembly commissioner to accompany the royal family back toward Paris.

Role range: 1789-1792

Escort

Jerome Petion was sent as an Assembly commissioner to accompany the royal family back to Paris.

Role range: 1789-1792

Escort

Sent as an Assembly commissioner to accompany the royal family back to Paris

Role range: 1789-1792

Return Journey

Petion observes the royal family closely during the guarded return from Varennes

Role range: 1789-1792

Return Journey

Petion observes the royal family closely during the guarded return from Varennes.

Role range: 1789-1792

Royal flight shocks constituent body: Assembly investigates escape

Petion became one of the deputies sent to accompany the royal family back from Varennes. The guarded return revealed the fragility of confidence between the king and the nation.

Role range: 1789-1792

Assembly restores royal inviolability: Debate over public consent

Petion represented a more democratic current increasingly uneasy about preserving Louis XVI without an effective popular choice. Legislative disagreement contributed to the organizing of petitions beyond the Assembly.

Role range: 1789-1792

Petition signatures gather: Public mobilization beyond chamber

Petion's democratic political current confronted a situation in which citizens demanded a hearing outside the legislative arena. The assembly at the Champ de Mars showed the limits of elite control over constitutional debate.

Role range: 1789-1792

Constitutional monarchy under suspicion: Democrats challenge restoration

Petion's political standing benefited from public distrust of those who defended the king after Varennes. The massacre made the distinction between a parliamentary settlement and popular consent even more contentious.

Role range: 1789-1792

Constituent Assembly Ovation

At the Constituent Assembly's close, crowds singled out Petion and Robespierre for a public ovation.

Role range: 1789-1792

Lafayette resigns Paris command: Radical municipal alternative grows

Petion emerged as a prominent alternative to established moderate leaders in Paris. Public anger after the Champ de Mars affair strengthened the political appeal of more democratic municipal leadership.

Role range: 1789-1792

Mayor of Paris

Elected mayor of Paris after Bailly's resignation

Role range: 1789-1792 – 1791-1792

Mayor of Paris

Jerome Petion was elected mayor of Paris after Bailly's resignation.

Role range: 1789-1792 – 1791-1792

Paris mayoral transition: Election to mayoralty

Petion won the Paris mayoralty as the capital turned away from Bailly's model of municipal leadership. The result revealed how the Champ de Mars tragedy altered the city's political balance.

Role range: 1789-1792

New Mayor Takes Over Revolutionary Municipality

Jerome Petion succeeded Bailly as mayor of Paris after the latter lost public confidence. His election marked a shift in the political character of the city's municipal leadership.

Role range: 1789-1792

Mayor

Appointed Mayor of Paris

Role range: 1789-1792 – 1791-1792

Mayor

Jerome Petion was appointed mayor of Paris.

Role range: 1789-1792 – 1791-1792

Pétion succeeds Bailly as Paris mayor

Jérôme Pétion won the Paris mayoralty after Bailly's declining popularity. His election showed a shift toward leaders more sympathetic to the capital's radical electorate.

Role range: 1789-1792

Mayor

Appointed Mayor of Paris

Demonstrations

Dissolves the Paris demonstrations

Role range: 1789-1792 – 1791-1792

Demonstrations

Jerome Petion dissolved the Paris demonstrations.

Role range: 1789-1792 – 1791-1792

Tuileries Crowd Crisis

As mayor of Paris, Petion tried to limit the crowd invasion of the Tuileries during the demonstration of 20 June.

Role range: 1789-1792

Paris sections petition for deposition - Historical significance

Jerome Petion figured in events surrounding paris sections petition for deposition at Paris. The petition reflected a widening gap between popular militants and the constitutional settlement of 1791. This development formed part of the chain that led to the Republic being proclaimed after the National Convention assembled.

Role range: 1789-1792

Paris sections petition for deposition

Pétion presented the growing demand from Parisian sections that Louis XVI be removed from royal power. The petition reflected a widening gap between popular militants and the constitutional settlement of 1791.

Role range: 1789-1792

Existing Municipality Loses Effective Control

The insurrectionary Commune displaced the authority of established city officials during the August crisis. Petion remained a prominent figure but could not control the newly mobilized armed sections.

Role range: 1789-1792

Commune and municipal leadership divided - Historical significance

Jerome Petion figured in events surrounding commune and municipal leadership divided at Paris. The conflict exposed the breakdown of the previous municipal chain of command. This development formed part of the chain that led to the Republic being proclaimed after the National Convention assembled.

Role range: 1789-1792

Commune and municipal leadership divided

Pétion's formal position as mayor was overtaken by the insurrectionary Commune's rise to power. The conflict exposed the breakdown of the previous municipal chain of command.

Role range: 1789-1792

Civil Registration Transferred to Municipalities

The Assembly enacted secular registration of births, marriages and deaths, reducing dependence on parish records for legal civil status.

Role range: 1789-1799

Demonstrators Press the King on Twenty June

Petion faced a major Parisian demonstration when crowds invaded the Tuileries and demanded that Louis XVI retreat from his vetoes.

Role range: 1789-1799