The White Terror was the violent backlash against former Jacobins and other revolutionaries that spread through parts of France in 1795.
It emerged after the Thermidorian Reaction of July 1794, which brought down Robespierre and weakened the radical Jacobin government. Relatives of people executed during the Reign of Terror, royalists, anti-Jacobin activists, and other opponents sought revenge against those associated with revolutionary repression.
The violence included street attacks, assassinations, prison massacres, and intimidation. It was especially severe in southeastern France, including the Rhône Valley, Lyon, Provence, and Marseille. Victims included former Jacobins, sans-culottes, revolutionary officials, tribunal personnel, and people accused of informing on others.
The term can be confused with the Thermidorian Reaction, which was the political overthrow of Robespierre, or the Reign of Terror, which preceded the backlash. The White Terror was less centrally organized than the Terror, although groups such as the Companions of Jehu and the Companions of the Sun participated in some regions.