Jacques Roux

Born Aug. 21, 1752, in Pranzac; died Jan. 20, 1794, in Bicêtre. Participant in the French Revolution; one of the leaders of the Enragés.

A teacher of philosophy and physics, Roux became a pastor in 1785. In his sermons, he enthusiastically welcomed the revolution. In 1790 he left his parish of Saint-Thomas-de-Conac and moved to Paris, where he officiated in a church in an area populated by artisans and the poor. He joined the Cordeliers and was elected in 1792 as a member of the Paris Commune. Roux demanded the death penalty for profiteers and denounced the rich. He was an implacable opponent of the Girondins and took part in the insurrection of May 31 to June 2, 1793, which resulted in the establishment of the Jacobin dictatorship.

In June 1793, Roux sharply criticized the Jacobin constitution of 1793 on the grounds that it did not safeguard the interests of the poor. He was expelled from the Cordeliers and, after the assassination of J.-P. Marat, began publishing his own newspaper; he viewed the paper as a continuation of Marat’s Ami du Peuple and used it to disseminate the ideas of the Enragés. Roux was twice arrested for his attacks on the Jacobin government. He committed suicide while in prison.