Sorry for being vague. I was trying to point out that the first phase of the revolution (“the Revolution of 1789”) was basically a liberal aristocratic revolution not unlike the American Revolution. The radical egalitarians that orchestrated the Terror didn’t seize power until a few years later.
I stand corrected - thanks to pointing this out. Got to go back to some history books ! While I was aware that the Terror took some years to seize power, I always thought that guillotine usage started much sooner.
There were indeed quite a few informal lynchings in the early days, but not the organized mass executions of 1793-94 (which were largely provoked by war hysteria).
