General maximum

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The General Maximum, or Law of the Maximum, was a law during the French Revolution, as an extension of the Law of Suspects on 29 September 1793. It succeeded the 4 May 1793 loi du maximum that also set price limits, deterred price gouging, and allowed for the continued flow of food supply to the French people. [1]

French Revolution Revolution in France, 1789 to 1798

The French Revolution was a period of far-reaching social and political upheaval in France and its colonies beginning in 1789. The Revolution overthrew the monarchy, established a republic, catalyzed violent periods of political turmoil, and finally culminated in a dictatorship under Napoleon who brought many of its principles to areas he conquered in Western Europe and beyond. Inspired by liberal and radical ideas, the Revolution profoundly altered the course of modern history, triggering the global decline of absolute monarchies while replacing them with republics and liberal democracies. Through the Revolutionary Wars, it unleashed a wave of global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East. Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history.

The Law of Suspects was a decree passed by the French National Convention on 17 September 1793, during the French Revolution. Some historians consider this decree the start of 'the Terror' over France; they argue that the decree marked a significant weakening of individual freedoms that led to "revolutionary paranoia" that swept the nation.

Price controls are governmental restrictions on the prices that can be charged for goods and services in a market. The intent behind implementing such controls can stem from the desire to maintain affordability of goods even during shortages, and to slow inflation, or, alternatively, to ensure a minimum income for providers of certain goods or a minimum wage. There are two primary forms of price control, a price ceiling, the maximum price that can be charged, and a price floor, the minimum price that can be charged.

Contents

Background

Competing theories exist as to the causes of the conditions the General Maximum was intended to ameliorate.

Eugene White, in his 1995 publication "The French Revolution and the Politics of Government Finance, 1770–1815", views that years of revolution, international conflicts, and poor climate conditions had led to an economic environment with massive inflation and food shortages throughout France. [2]

Andrew Dickson White, Professor of History at Cornell, suggests that the ever-greater and ultimately uncontrolled issuance of paper money authorised by the National Assembly was at the root of France's economic failure and most certainly the cause of its increasingly rampant inflation [3]

Although it varied according to region, the maximum price for first necessity goods was about a third higher than the 1790 prices, and the legal maximum fixed to the wages was about half higher than the average level in 1790[ citation needed ]. Committee members feared new and more radical revolutionaries were being created by the crisis[ citation needed ].The fear was intensified on 5 September 1793, when the sans-culottes invaded the National Convention demanding "Food- and to have it, force for the law." [4]

<i>Sans-culottes</i> radical left-wing partisans of the lower classes during French Revolution

The sans-culottes were the common people of the lower classes in late 18th century France, a great many of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution in response to their poor quality of life under the Ancien Régime. The name sans-culottes refers to their clothing, and through that to their lower-class status: culottes were the fashionable silk knee-breeches of the 18th-century nobility and bourgeoisie, and the working class sans-culottes wore pantaloons, or trousers, instead. The sans-culottes, most of them urban labourers, served as the driving popular force behind the revolution. Though ill-clad and ill-equipped, they made up the bulk of the Revolutionary army during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars.

National Convention single-chamber assembly in France from 21 September 1792 to 26 October 1795

The National Convention was the first government of the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the one-year Legislative Assembly. Created after the great insurrection of 10 August 1792, it was the first French government organized as a republic, abandoning the monarchy altogether. The Convention sat as a single-chamber assembly from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795.

Content

On 29 September 1793, the Law of Suspects was extended to include the General Maximum. The Law of Suspects was initially created to deal with counter-revolutionaries, but hunger and poverty were seen by the Committee of Public Safety as dangerous to both the national interest and their positions within the government. [5]

Committee of Public Safety De facto executive government in France (1793–1794)

The Committee of Public Safety, created in April 1793 by the National Convention and then restructured in July 1793, formed the de facto executive government in France during the Reign of Terror (1793–1794), a stage of the French Revolution. The Committee of Public Safety succeeded the previous Committee of General Defence and assumed its role of protecting the newly established republic against foreign attacks and internal rebellion. As a wartime measure, the Committee—composed at first of nine and later of twelve members—was given broad supervisory powers over military, judicial and legislative efforts. It was formed as an administrative body to supervise and expedite the work of the executive bodies of the Convention and of the government ministers appointed by the Convention. As the Committee tried to meet the dangers of a coalition of European nations and counter-revolutionary forces within the country, it became more and more powerful.

The law set forth uniform price ceilings on grain, flour, meat, oil, onions, soap, firewood, leather, and paper; their sale were regulated a third over the maximum price set in 1790. [6] [7]

Written into the text of the law were regulations and fines. Merchants had to post their maximum rates in a conspicuous location for all consumers to see and were subject to repeated inspections by police and local officials. Furthermore, the law gave legal protection to consumers who reported violations of the Maximum to local officials. If the consumer did not have a role in the infraction and gave report to the proper authorities denouncing the merchant, fines would be levied against only shop owners.

Effects

In 1793, the French Revolution caused wars with Austria, Prussia, Great Britain and Spain. The government continued to function during the economic and political crises by a series of loans, bonds and tax increases; an increasingly large amount of paper money issuance was a vain attempt to stimulate the economy. [8] In many ways, the law actually exacerbated the problem, as the new price setting led to many food producers lowering their production or halting altogether, while many of those who continued to produce held onto their inventories, rather than sell at the legal price, which was often below the cost of production. This led to continued food shortages and recurring famines throughout the country. The Committee of Public Safety responded by sending soldiers into the countryside to arrest farmers and seize their crops. This temporarily alleviated the shortages in Paris, however it led to shortages becoming more intense in the rest of the country.

The law was written with an eye towards preventing business practices like price gouging and rent seeking, but in practice, the law targeted local shopkeepers, butchers, bakers and farmers, who were already feeling the effects of the economic downturn like other citizens. [9]

Conclusion

The General Maximum's economic impact was largely negative, as its efforts at price control led to an overall decrease in food supply and prolonged famines in parts of the country. The law amplified parts of the problem it was trying to solve. The political and symbolic impact of the General Maximum were clear, as the harsh punishments enacted upon those who breached the Maximum became a symbol of the Reign of Terror.

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References

  1. ↑ White, E. "The French Revolution and the Politics of Government Finance, 1770–1815." The Journal of Economic History 1995, p 244
  2. ↑ White, E. "The French Revolution and the Politics of Government Finance, 1770–1815." The Journal of Economic History 1995, p 236-238
  3. ↑ White, A.D, "Fiat Money Inflation in France" 1912, The White Collection at the Cornell University, http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/collections/subjects/frrev.html
  4. ↑ Palmer, RR. Twelve Who Ruled. Princeton University Press, 1970, p. 47
  5. ↑ Darrow, M. "Economic Terror in the City: The General Maximum in Montauban." French Historical Studies 1991, p 500
  6. ↑ Darrow, M. "Economic Terror in the City: The General Maximum in Montauban." French Historical Studies 1991, p 498
  7. ↑ White, E. "The French Revolution and the Politics of Government Finance, 1770–1815." The Journal of Economic History 1995, p 244
  8. ↑ AD White "Fiat Money Inflation In France", 1912, The White Collection at the Cornell University library http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/collections/subjects/frrev.html
  9. ↑ Darrow, M. "Economic Terror in the City: The General Maximum in Montauban." French Historical Studies 1991, p 503-505

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