Skip to main content

Primary sourceSpeech3 December 1792

Speech on the Trial of the King

Maximilien Robespierre · 3 December 1792

Robespierre's speech of 3 December 1792 arguing that Louis XVI should face political judgment and execution rather than a formal trial.

Robespierre delivered this speech himself, arguing for the king's execution as a political necessity rather than a legal verdict.

Ask Maximilien Robespierre about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Full text (Wikisource)

About this source

What it is

This is a speech delivered by Maximilien Robespierre to the National Convention on 3 December 1792, during the debate over what to do with the deposed King Louis XVI. A copy is held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Why it matters

Robespierre argued that the Convention was not a court and the deputies were not judges, but statesmen who had to make a political decision for the safety of the new republic. He believed treating the king's fate as a legal problem, rather than a political necessity, endangered the revolution itself. The speech reveals his uncompromising reasoning and his willingness to prioritise the survival of the republic over ordinary legal process.

Look closer

  • Why does Robespierre insist the deputies are not judges?
  • What does his argument reveal about how he thought about justice versus political necessity?
  • What is left out of this speech that a trial would normally include?

This speech is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Maximilien Robespierre on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Maximilien Robespierre sources

Meet the AI Maximilien Robespierre →
Photo of a handwritten French document on aged paper headed COMMUNE DE PARIS, with a circular seal reading LIBERTÉ, EGALITÉ, and a cursive text addressed to the Section des Piques, signed by several officials at the bottom.Document

Primary source

Appeal of the Commune to the Section des Piques, 9 Thermidor

Louvet, Payan, Lerebourgs, Legrand, Robespierre · 27 July 1794 (9 Thermidor Year II)

Oil painting of a seated man with powdered grey hair wearing a light blue coat, green waistcoat, white cravat and white breeches. He sits in a red-upholstered chair beside a writing desk with papers, and a small spaniel-like dog is at his feet against a dark background.Painting

Primary source

Portrait of Maximilien de Robespierre

Louis-Léopold Boilly · 1791

Terracotta bust of a man with curled, powdered hair tied at the back, wearing a high-collared coat with buttons and a frilled cravat tied in a bow. He looks off to the side. The bust sits on a dark green marble pedestal.Sculpture

Primary source

Bust of Robespierre

Claude-André Deseine · 1791

Speech

Primary source

Report on Religious and Moral Ideas and National Festivals (18 Floréal)

Maximilien Robespierre · 7 May 1794 (18 Floréal Year II)

Satirical engraving titled Discussion sur les hommes de couleur. A crowd of caricatured figures in 18th-century dress struggles over a rope in the center, with a seated figure and a palm tree at left, a Liberty-like allegorical figure with scales and clouds at upper center, and a ship at right. Dense French caption text lines the bottom edge.Artifact

Primary source

Discussion sur les hommes de couleur

c. 1791

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Maximilien Robespierre now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions