<P> This law permitted the execution of citizens thought to be counter-revolutionaries, even under simple suspicion and without extensive trials . When the Committee of Public Safety allowed the law to be passed, the Convention began to question it out of fear that Robespierre and his allies might come after certain members of the Convention, and even the Committee itself, due to the excesses carried out by its representatives, such as Joseph Fouché, Jean - Baptiste Carrier and Jean - Lambert Tallien, who had been sent to various regions of France to stamp out opposition to the revolutionary government in Paris . Robespierre worked tirelessly (and almost alone) to curb their excesses against the opposition of others who condemned him for his moderation in defending revolutionary ideals . He had them recalled to Paris to account for their actions and expelled from the Jacobin Club . Nonetheless, they were able to evade arrest . Fouché spent the evenings moving house to house, warning members of the Convention that Robespierre was after them while organising his own coup d'état . </P> <P> Robespierre appeared at the Convention on 26 July (8 Thermidor, according to the French Republican Calendar), and delivered a two - hour - long speech . He defended himself against charges of dictatorship and tyranny, and then proceeded to warn of a conspiracy against the Republic . Specifically, he railed against the bloody excesses he had observed during the Terror . He also implied that members of the Convention were a part of this conspiracy, though when pressed, he refused to provide any names . The speech alarmed members, particularly given Fouché's warnings . The members who felt that Robespierre was alluding to them tried to prevent the speech from being printed, and a bitter debate ensued until Barère forced an end to it . Later that evening, Robespierre delivered the same speech again at the Jacobin Club, where it was very well received . </P> <P> The following day, Saint - Just began to give a speech in support of Robespierre in the Convention . Those who had seen him working on his speech the night before expected accusations to arise from it . Saint - Just had time to give only a small part of his speech before Tallien interrupted him . While the accusations began to pile up, Saint - Just remained uncharacteristically silent . Robespierre then attempted to secure the tribune to speak, but his voice was shouted down . Robespierre soon found himself at a loss for words after one deputy called for his arrest and Vadier gave a mocking impression of him . When one deputy witnessed Robespierre's inability to respond, the man shouted, "The blood of Danton chokes him!" Robespierre then finally regained his voice to reply with his one recorded statement of the morning, a demand to know why he was now being blamed for the other man's death: "Is it Danton you regret?...Cowards! Why didn't you defend him?" </P> <P> The Convention ordered the arrest of Robespierre that same day, 27 July, along with his brother Augustin, Couthon, Saint - Just, François Hanriot, and Philippe - François - Joseph Le Bas . Troops from the Paris Commune, under General Coffinhal, arrived to free the prisoners and then marched against the Convention itself . The Convention responded by ordering troops of its own under Paul Barras to be called out . When the troops of the Paris Commune heard this news, order began to break down, and Hanriot ordered his remaining troops to withdraw to the Hôtel de Ville (headquarters of the Paris Commune), where Robespierre and his supporters also gathered . The Convention declared them to be outlaws, meaning that upon verification, the fugitives could be executed within twenty - four hours without a trial . As the night went on, the forces of the Paris Commune deserted the Hôtel de Ville and, at around two in the morning, those of the Convention under the command of Barras arrived there . In order to avoid capture, Augustin Robespierre threw himself out a window, only to break both of his legs; Couthon was found lying at the bottom of a staircase, having fallen from his wheelchair; Le Bas committed suicide by shooting himself in the head; and Hanriot jumped from another window and landed in an open sewer, but did not die as a result of the fall . Robespierre tried to kill himself with a pistol, but only managed to shatter his lower jaw, although some eyewitnesses claimed that he was shot by Charles - André Merda . </P>

Who argued for and became a member of the republic of virtue