French freemasons of the 18th century were, in the main, aristocrats, priests, military officers or bourgeoisie. They were not in sympathy with radical social change. A growing belief that a ruler governed by right of the people and not by right of God provided a backdrop for much of the French Revolution. Whatever the actions of individual freemasons, Freemasonry as a whole was indifferent to politics.
"Not only did Freemasonry have no part in instigating the movement but it was one of the principal sufferers... and the majority of Paris Masters lost their lives." Before the Revolution the Grand Orient of France had 67 lodges in Paris and 463 in the Provinces, Colonies and Foreign Countries; the Grand Lodge had 88 in Paris and 43 outside. During the Revolution period only two or three of the Paris lodges kept open.
There were too many people, too many ideas, too many events, too many grievances, to ascribe the actions of the French Revolution to any one source. In general, those who "blame" Freemasonry for causing the French Revolution are more interested in blaming Freemasonry for the bloody Terror, than in crediting Freemasonry for creating a system of representational democracy. The French Revolution was a complex process in which freemasons played a role, but to assign Freemasonry, as a body, a controlling role in the Revolution displays a simplistic and unrealistic view of the history of the period.
It is believed that Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was initiated into Army Philadelphe Lodge in 1798. His brothers, Joseph, Lucian, Louis and Jerome, were also freemasons. Five of the six members of Napoleon’s Grand Councel of the Empire were freemasons, as were six of the nine Imperial Officers and 22 of the 30 Marshals of France.
French General of the Revolutionary Army, Jean Victor Moreau (1763-1813) was one time Master of Loge Parfaite Union in Rennes, France. He headed the Republican and Royalist conspiracy against Napoleon.
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