BARRAS, ba-ris, Paul Francois Jean Nicolas, Comte de, French statesman: b. Fox-Arnphoux (Var), 30 June 1755; d. 29 Jan. 1829. When the Revolution broke out he un mediately showed himself an opponent of the court and had a seat in the tiers hat, while his brother was sitting among the nobility. He took part in the attacks upon the Bastile and the Tuileries, was elected a juryman at the tribunal of Orleans, and in September a mem ber of the national convention, where he voted for the death of Louis XVI. Although he had established his reputation as a patriot, yet he was distasteful to .Robespierre whom he sus pected as a half-hearted revolutionary, and he resolved to involve him in the great proscription which he then meditated. Barras therefore joined those determined to overthrow Robes pierre, and took an important part in the events of the 9th Thermidor (27 July 1794). He was entrusted with the chief command of the forces of his party, repelled the troops of Henriot, and made himself master of Robespierre. On 4 Feb. 1795 he was elected president of the convention. The 13th Vendemiaire (5 Oct. 1795); when the troops of the sections which favored the royal cause approached the conven tion, Barras for a second time received the chief command of the troops, and employed Bona, parte in the adoption of rigorous repressive measures. In his report he attributed the victory to this young general, and procured for him the chief command of the army of the in terior. His important services promoted him
to the Directory. Barras soon perceived that Bonaparte would give a decisive superiority, to him who should obtain an influence over him; and therefore he displaced Carnot from the War Department and took possession of -it himself. This separated them, and Carnot for some time took part with the council, where a party had been formed to restrain the power of the Directory, and particularly that of Barras. The rupture could only terminate with the ruin of one of the parties: that of the council fell by the events of the 18th Fructidor (4 Sept. 1797), in which Barras took a leading part. He arranged the marriage of Bonaparte with the widow Beauharnais. From this period he governed absolutely until 13 June 1799, when Sieyes entered the Directory. Nevertheless Barras succeeded in preserving his seat, but he became a victim of the 18th Brumaire when Bonaparte overthrew the Directory by means of the coup d'etat (9 Nov. 1799). He afterward retired to Brussels, where he lived for several years; but finally received permission to repair to the south of France. His memoirs (in valuable for the inner history of the Revolu tion) were published in French and English (1895-96).