Day 5 – La Conciergerie

Visiting the concierge today shed some light on a different perspective of the French Revolution. Today I got a chance to observe the events from one of the prisoner’s point of view. On one account, one of the released prisoners noted that they were not usually at the concierge for long periods of time. They were brought there before being seen by the Revolutionary Tribunals, then left immediately after sentencing. The prisoners also had to fund their own detention. Individuals who were not able to afford the more comfortable and furnished cells were cramped into one with at least seven other prisoners. One prisoner noted that there were no windows and they were covered in their own filth in this tightly packed cell, which was suffocating. I find the idea of this to be a little absurd because it sounds like the prison system was corrupted. Paying for a better living situation in prison seems like bribery and putting individuals in harsh conditions, who are not able to pay, seems inhumane. With a revolution that started out to improve the lives of the common people, it seems like playing with fire by having a system set up in this manner. This was an easy slope to slide down because the unfair treatment of these prisoners could have started another uprising. Better yet, this prison system sort of undermines the revolution since it is not much different from what they were trying to change.

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