Girondin (redirected from Girondist)

Girondin

 or Girondist

Label applied to a loose grouping of republican politicians, some of them originally from the département of Gironde, who played a leading role in the Legislative Assembly from October 1791 to September 1792 during the French Revolution. Their opponents often called them Brissotins, after their most prominent spokesman, Jacques-Pierre Brissot. While in dominance, they supported foreign war as a means to unite the people behind the Revolution. In 1792 the National Convention was divided between them and the more radical Montagnards; in 1793 they were driven from the National Convention and the Montagnards seized power. Many Girondins were guillotined in the Reign of Terror.