After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal The French Revolution's Reign of Terror
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Feb 16, 2026 
Dr Michael Rapport, Reader in Modern European History at the University of Glasgow, discusses the Reign of Terror and its backdrop. He traces how war, economic collapse and emergency institutions drove mass repression. Conversation covers the Law of Suspects, local surveillance systems, the guillotine’s shift from reform to spectacle, roles of women, and why key figures like Robespierre fell.
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Crisis Drove Revolutionary Extremes
- The Revolution faced existential threats: war on multiple fronts, economic collapse, and internal unrest that pushed leaders toward extraordinary measures.
- Michael Rapport argues these crises, not ideology alone, made emergency, repressive governance seem necessary.
Institutions Born Of Emergency
- Revolutionary institutions like the Committee of Public Safety emerged as emergency responses to particular crises, not as a pre-planned dictatorship.
- The Convention retained formal authority while extraordinary committees and tribunals executed rapid wartime and policing functions.
Vague Laws Enabled Widespread Arrests
- The Law of Suspects cast a wide, ambiguous net, making ordinary citizens liable to arrest for vague disloyalty.
- Rapport notes most arrested remained imprisoned locally, but the law enabled escalations that sent many to Parisian trials.
