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Why were Georges Danton and the Indulgents executed in 1794?

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Eighteenth-century painted portrait of Maximilien de Robespierre wearing a brown striped coat, high collar, and white cravat, set against a plain background. — Maximilien Robespierre One of the leading figures of the French Revolution, Maximilien Robespierre.

Georges Danton and the Indulgents were executed in April 1794 because they represented a moderate opposition that threatened the authority and policies of the Committee of Public Safety during the Reign of Terror.12

Led by Maximilien Robespierre, the Revolutionary government sought to maintain a "single will" to navigate internal civil war and external military threats. While Robespierre had already eliminated radical factions to his left—the Hébertists—he viewed Danton and his followers as a dangerous challenge from the right. The Indulgents had increasingly criticized the system of terror and advocated for a moderation of government policy.3412

The conflict reached a breaking point when members of the Dantonist faction were implicated in a financial scandal involving the French East India Company. Robespierre, determined not to let the government be overwhelmed by moderate dissent, moved against them. Danton and his allies were arrested in late March 1794 and subsequently guillotined on April 5, 1794, effectively silencing the moderate opposition.135