Merged into Feuillants Club | ||
 | ||
President Jean Joseph Mounier
(1789)
Pierre Victor, baron Malouet
(1789–1791) Founded 1 December 1789 (1789-12-01) Dissolved 18 June 1791; 225 years ago (1791-06-18) Headquarters 8, rue de la Michodière, Paris Ideology Constitutionalism
Conservatism
Moderatism | ||
The Friends of the Monarchist Constitution (French: Amis de la Constitution Monarchique), commonly known as Monarchist Club (French: Club monarchique) or Monarchiens, were one of the revolutionary factions in the earliest stages of the French Revolution. The Monarchiens were briefly a conservative, stabilising force, criticized by the left wing of the National Constituent Assembly, the spectators in the galleries and the patriotic press.
Contents
The Monarchien party was established in August 1789, but was quickly swept away. Specifically, the brief movement developed when the Revolution was shifting away from the Ancien Régime during the Spring of 1789 and was defeated by the end of 1789. Subsequently, the term itself is usually derogatory.
Monarchien positions
Monarchiens were once viewed as contributors to the Third Estate. They differed from Sieyès and Mirabeau, as they did not “speak the language of democracy”. Instead, they formed their views based on the liberal influences of the years of the Enlightenment and Constitution of the United Kingdom. They sought fairness under law and pushed for a working constitution. The monarchien position favored voting and common deliberations. It aimed to merge the rights of the royal authority with the rights of the common man. This idea was in fact part of the Monarchien’s downfall as the changes brought about by the Revolution were far more different than what the Monarchien’s viewed as change. Specifically, the Monarchien’s were unable to understand and reform to the importance of “Political legitimacy” when it came to discussing the constitutional process. In fact, they sought to establish a free government without substituting one power for another but rather redefining the existing powers of the monarchy.
Founder, Jean-Joseph Mounier
The group was founded and led by Jean Joseph Mounier, who was born in 1758. Though Mounier was neither graceful nor eloquent in his speeches, he was able to influence many with his strength and consistency. Among his followers were P.-V. de Malouet, Nicolas Bergasse, T.-G. de Lally-Tollendal and the comte de Clermont-Tonnerre. On 9 July Mounier’s views of the government's political position were outlined in a statement to the National Constituent Assembly. The Assembly ultimately voted against the introduced Monarchien views of Mounier on 10 and 11 September. The rejection led to the resignation of Mounier.