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How were citizen-soldiers combined with regular troops in the French army?

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Napoleon I — French Revolutionary wars *Bonaparte on the Bridge at Arcole, 17 November 1796*, oil on canvas by Antoine-Jean Gros, 1796; in the Versailles Museum.

During the French Revolutionary wars, the French military integrated citizen-soldiers with professional line-army troops by organizing them into new units known as demibrigades.1

This structural reorganization was a key component of the levée en masse, a policy of mass conscription enacted in 1793 to bolster the nation's defenses. By merging the inexperienced citizen-soldiers with the seasoned regulars, the French army sought to combine the militant spirit and popular mobilization of the revolution with the discipline and expertise of the professional military.1

Within these units, the army functioned as a model of democratic practice, where promotion was based on a combination of seniority and demonstrated battlefield talent. This system allowed the republic to rapidly expand its forces to nearly three-quarters of a million men within a year, creating a cohesive fighting force that could sustain the demands of the ongoing conflict.1