The French thinkers, who are in charge of the European intellectual movement, make of Geneva a model city where the virtues are incarnated which they rent: reason and wisdom. People are workers and educated, the rules of government impressed of good sense. The religion even, removed from supernatural and insistent on morals, became philosophical and tolerant, any forgotten fanaticism.

This myth is formulated in 1757 in the article “Geneva” of the Encyclopedia of Alembert and Diderot, manifest of French the progressists spirits. This text was strongly inspired by Voltaire, bench in Geneva with the Delights in 1755 and which will not cease any more being interested of close with the Genevese life.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau and disorders of 1763-1770

Contradicting the certificate of tolerance decreed by the Encyclopedia, the Small Council condemns, in 1762, two books (the Emile, devoted to education, and the social, masterly Contract exposed political doctrines) with being flarings in front of the Town hall because “tending to destroy the Christian religion and all the governments”. If it can be seized, their author will be stopped. This author is not other than the most famous son of Geneva, Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

With some delay, the citizens protest against the judgment of Rousseau, considered to be illegal, and present to the government complaints, called “representations”. From there the name comes from “Representatives” decreed to the adverse middle-class.

In 1764, Rousseau publishes the Letters of the Mountain; it joint its case with the cause of the Representatives while showing with those how much they have of effective influence on the walk of the Republic. On its side, the government uses the strict right which it has not to take account of the representations. This right of refusal will be used to appoint the aristocrats under the name of Négatifs.

The battle of ideas between Représentants and Negative is expressed not only in works of some great names, but also in tens of writings emanating occasional authors who make a point of making known their opinion on the popular freedom, equality and sovereignty. This mania brochurière of the Genevese will be prolonged during all the XIX E century.

Aristocrats and middle-class men reconcile themselves one moment in 1770. The natives had supported the cause of the Representatives; they had not almost obtained anything in exchange, whereas the Representatives had obliged the Negative ones with some concessions. Being detached from the Representatives, the natives formed a third force, which expressed its dissatisfaction publicly.

On February 15th, 1770, of the Representatives inform the government of their fear about a sedition which the natives would plot. They ask him to manage a preventive lesson with those. The repression of a demonstration caused the death of three natives. “Here are these poor citizens as hard aristocrats with the natives as the magistrates were it formerly for them: of these aristocracies, I would like the first still best”, Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote.