When Robespierre held power, he did not live in a palace.
Instead, like Marat, he lived in a civilian residence in Paris, very close to the National Convention.
In the year the monarchy fell, the leaves at the Tuileries Palace had shed unusually early. Looking at the trees outside the window, the king said, "Autumn has come so early this year." Yet an article published at the time declared that royal power would never last until the leaves withered.
In Robespierre's thirty-six years, there had been few moments of compromise. Perhaps the execution of Danton was one exception. Because of a speech in the Legislative Assembly, Robespierre gained the nickname "the Incorruptible." In the final speech of both his political career and his life, he had said, "The French Revolution was founded upon the theory of human rights and the principles of justice. Other revolutions require only ambition, while ours requires virtue. Ignorance and the thirst for power will erode other revolutions and turn them into new tyrannies. Yet our revolution has always upheld the principles of justice, and thus it will never change its colors."
His speech was still impassioned and compelling, but in the end, he was only one man. Facing opponents who had prepared in advance, he quickly lost his right to speak. Amid the uproar, no one paid attention to his voice anymore. The representatives of the National Convention voted to approve the proposal to arrest Robespierre.
During the Revolution, failure meant the death penalty. When news of Robespierre's arrest reached Paris City Hall, the city government, just as it had when the monarchy and later the Girondins fell, closed the gates of Paris. The alarm bells atop the municipal building rang, and the National Guard began assembling, attempting to take control of Paris's forty-eight districts.