Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès, born in 1748 in Fréjus, embodies a man deeply linked to the tumults of French history.
Thus, he left an indelible mark on the political and military fields. Fréjus, a small Provençal town, was the scene of his first steps.
Subsequently, the national scene welcomed him, at a time when an entire system was going to be turned upside down.
Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès
But who could have launched this project?
Born into a family of minor nobility, Sieyès was destined for the church. However, the French Revolution shaped his career.
As a philosopher and political strategist, he became a key player in the overthrow of the Ancien Régime.
Thus, in his famous pamphlet of 1789, "What is the Third Estate?", he defends the idea of a sovereign people, excluded from the elites.
With this vision, he became a craftsman of the Revolution, a player in the great constitutional debates and an architect of the Republic.
His influence goes far beyond that. In 1799, he orchestrated, with Napoleon Bonaparte, the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire.
This maneuver allowed Napoleon to be installed at the head of the government, marking the end of the Revolution and the beginning of the Consulate.
Far from being a mere spectator, Sieyès was a key advisor to Napoleon, reinforcing his status among the powerful.
Over the years, a man of letters and strategy, Sieyès remained discreet, but essential in French politics.
His commitment?
The taste for power, but also the conviction that a new order can pull France out of revolutionary convulsions.
No matter what the twists and turns, the main thing for him is to maintain stability in the service of republican ideals.
Even after distancing himself from Napoleon, he remained an essential witness of his time, living through its upheavals.
The story of the statue of Abbé Sieyès, born in Fréjus, shows that you don't need to be a man of the crowd to make history.
Sometimes it is the shadow of a strategic, thoughtful and determined personality that shapes the destiny of a country.
To discover nearby
