The election took place from 2 to 6 September 1795 after the election of the electoral colleges by primary assemblies on 26 August. Owing to the abstention of aristocrats and anti-republicans and the fear of victimization the voter turnout in the departments was low – 11.9% of the electorate, compared to 10.2% in the 1791 elections, in spite of the fact that the number of eligible to vote had doubled. Therefore, universal male suffrage had very little impact. On the whole, the electorate returned the same sort of men that the active citizens had chosen in 1791.[1]
In the whole of France, only eleven primary assemblies wished for the retention of the monarchy. Of the electoral assemblies, all tacitly voted for a republic – though only Paris used the word. Among chosen deputies none had stood for election as a royalist. Though only a million voters went to the polls, there is no good reason to doubt that they represented the will of the five million Frenchmen.[2][note 1]
The Convention held its first sessions in a hall of the Tuileries Palace, then it sat in the Salle du Manège, and finally from 10 May 1793 in that of the Salle des Machines, an immense hall in which the deputies were but loosely scattered. This last hall had the galleries for the public, who often influenced the debate by interruptions or by applause.[4][note 2]
The members of the Convention came from all classes of society, but the most numerous were lawyers. 75 members had sat in the National Constituent Assembly, 183 in theLegislative Assembly. The full number of deputies was 749, not counting 33 from the French colonies, of whom only some arrived in Paris in time. Besides these, however, the newly formed départements annexed to France from 1792 to 1795 were allowed to send deputations.
According to its own ruling, the Convention elected its President every fortnight. He was eligible for re-election after the lapse of a fortnight. Ordinarily the sessions were held in the morning, but evening sessions also occurred frequently, often extending late into the night. Sometimes in exceptional circumstances the Convention declared itself in permanent session and sat for several days without interruption. For both legislative and administrative the Convention used committees, with powers more or less widely extended and regulated by successive laws. The most famous of these committees included the Committee of Public Safety and the Committee of General Security.
The Convention held legislative and executive powers during the first years of the French First Republic and had three distinct periods: Girondin, Montagnard or Jacobin, and Thermidorian.
