1. VIVE LA REVOLUTION!
French Revolution Role Play Scenarios - CP

2. 1789 - The peasants are rebelling,
but the bourgeoisie cannot control
them. The peasants think that their
right to freedom means they can do
whatever they want since now they
are free from the control of the king.
They don’t know what good rights or
bad rights are and have no
understanding of the “social contract”.
This is looking more like the state of

3. Questions to Answer:
How should the bourgeoisie
(educated members of the
Third Estate who formed the
National Assembly) control the
peasants?
Can the bourgeoisie control
the peasants?

4. What Actually Happened?
 The Great Fear spread
throughout France and
peasants went wild
throughout the summer
of 1789.
 The National Assembly
created the Declaration
of the Rights of Man a
new constitution for
France that limited the
King’s power and gave
more rights to the
people.

5. 1792 – The bourgeoisie leaders of the revolution are
keeping King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette alive.
The National Assembly wrote a Constitution that
made France a constitutional monarchy (where a
King exists and has power to veto (cancel) laws)
and set the voting age at 25, for men only, who own
property (so if you don’t own land, you can’t vote).
Many new leaders come to power, like the radical
Maximilien Robespierre who wants to give more
men the right to vote. The National Assembly keeps
trying to pass new laws, but the king keeps vetoing
them. The king and queen also tried to escape.
Some people (like Maximilien Robespierre) think it is
a good idea to just get rid of the king and queen, but
this could cause problems with the queen’s family in

6. Questions to Answer
 Should Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette be
kept in power?
Is it worth the risk of problems with Austria
to get rid of the king and queen?
 Should there be more changes made to the
constitution and/or the government?
Are the changes made by the Declaration
of the Rights of Man enough, or should
everyone listen to Maximilien Robespierre
and make more?

7. What Actually Happened (Part
1)?
 Maximilien
Robespierre a radical
member of the
bourgeoisie gains
power and gets rid of
the National Assembly
and the constitution.
 Marie Antoinette and
Louis XVI are killed by
guillotine.

8. What Actually Happened (Part
2)?
 Maximilien
Robespierre forms
the Committee of
Public Safety that
he says will fix the
problems in France
(such as high
prices), but
eliminated “enemies
of the state” and

9. 1793 – The Committee for Public Safety has
been killing thousands of Frenchmen (including
King Louis XVI) because they were supposedly
“enemies of the Revolution”. Maximilien
Robespierre is controlling everything and people
are afraid to question him. People are calling
this a “Reign of Terror” because everyone is
afraid of being caught by spies or accused of
being an enemy and executed by guillotine.
Maximilien Robespierre is killing anyone he
suspects of being his enemy with little or no
evidence. To make matters worse Austria has
declared war on France for killing Marie
Antoinette. What should you do?

10. Questions to Answer
 What should the other members of the
Committee of Public Safety do about
Maximilien Robespierre?
 Austria and some other countries in
Europe are now at war with France
because Robespierre executed Marie
Antoinette and Louis XVI. Should you try
to make peace with them or fight them?

11. What Actually Happened (Part
1)?
 The time period that
Maximilien Robespierre
controlled the Committee
of Public Safety became
known as the Reign of
Terror because so many
people were killed based
on his suspicions that they
were enemies of his or
loyal to the king.
 Robespierre did not solve
the food shortages or
lower prices.

12. What Actually Happened (Part
2)?
 Robespierre drafted
people to serve in the
military and fight
Austria.
 Robespierre became
so unpopular that the
Committee of Public
Safety had him
executed by guillotine
for crimes against the
state.

13. 1795 – Robespierre has been killed, and
the “Reign of Terror” is over. Now the
“Directory” is the new government of
France – the executive branch is just 5
men who enforce the new Constitution.
Robespierre’s policy of letting all men vote
is replaced with only allowing men who
own property to vote. The men who can
vote eliminate price controls (to keep costs
down) and begin printing money for
themselves. As a result of all the new
money, prices rise, and there are riots in

14. Questions to Answer
How can the Directory deal
with the riots in Paris
(related to money)?
What changes (if any)
should the Directory make
to their new constitution?

15. What Actually Happened?
 The Directory (a group of five men
that rule the government together)
are very corrupt and unpopular with
the people.
 They appoint a young military
general named Napoleon
Bonaparte to restore order in Paris.
 Napoleon successfully restores order
and then goes to fix the other

16. 1799 – The Directory is out of control – they are not
pleasing anybody. There are still people who support
the monarchy who want Louis XVI’s oldest son to
become the King of France under a constitutional
monarchy, and there are more extreme people who
see France becoming like Great Britain – where the
wealthy businessmen and bourgeoisie have the real
power because prices are rising and people have
fewer and fewer jobs. The Directory also has to keep
fighting the wars that the Committee for Public Safety
under Maximilien Robespierre’s control started, which
are being won by a strong and popular General named
Napoleon Bonaparte. When Napoleon wins a battle
and gets some more land for France, the Directory
sends unemployed people to go and live on that land,

17. Questions to Answer
 Should the Directory put a monarch
back in power or should they make
more changes to France so they can
be like Britain?
 How can the Directory use
Napoleon’s successes to help the
government or make changes?

18. What Actually Happened?
 When Napoleon returns
to France from fighting
wars he realizes how
bad things have gotten
under the Directory.
 Napoleon is very
popular with the French
people, so he decides to
overthrow the Directory
and create his own
government.