BABEUF, FRANÇOIS-NOËL

BABEUF, François-Noël. – Born in Saint-Quentin on 23 Nov. 1760. In his youth he became known for his demagogic writings in the *Correspondant Picard*. In Paris he published *Le Tribun du Peuple*. He advocated an absolute equality among all citizens, which, to be effective, was not to be confined to civil and political rights but was to be extended to the economic sphere through the abolition of private property and the establishment of an equal remuneration for every form of labour. To this end he organized a club, the *Society of the Panthéon*, which also included F. Buonarroti (q.v.). After the association was dissolved (1795), its members planned to overthrow the government by force (Conspiracy of the Equals). Betrayed, he was sentenced to death; he committed suicide on 27 May 1797.