September 22, 1792

Advent of the French Republic

On September 22, 1792, six weeks after the incarceration of King Louis XVI and two days after the victory at Valmy, the deputies of the new assembly of the Convention decided, on a proposal from Danton, that public acts would henceforth be dated "Year 1 of the Republic".

It was in this "furtive" manner, according to Robespierre's words, that France discovered itself as a Republic.

Under the Ancien Régime, the word Republic was synonymous with State (whether or not it had a sovereign at its head).

At the end of the 18th century, it began to be confused with a non-monarchical regime (whether or not it was democratic).