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Origin and history

The Pyramid of Bédoin is a commemorative stele erected in memory of the victims of the French Revolution. It is located in the commune of Bédoin, Vaucluse, and was built following tragic events in 1794. On the night of 2 May 1794 the tree of freedom and the decrees of the Convention on the common house were destroyed. In retaliation, a revolutionary court was set up on the spot, sentencing 66 people to death by guillotine. The executions took place immediately, followed by punitive measures: revolutionary taxes, house fires, sterilization of salted land, and deportation of the remaining inhabitants to neighbouring villages under house arrest.

The village, nicknamed "Bedoin l'Infâme", was struck off administrative maps. Two months later, with the end of the Terror regime, Jean Bry, the government representative, was sent to ease tensions. On 4 May 1795, during a secular celebration, he officially rehabilitated the village and inaugurated the memorial at the site of the executions. This monument, composed of an altar of the homeland surmounted by a column, was nicknamed "The Pyramid". A black marble plaque gave a message of consolation, evoking justice restored after "a year of weeping".

Since 23 July 2009, the monument has been a reminder of this dark episode of local history. It symbolizes both the revolutionary repression and the subsequent attempt at national reconciliation. The stele, owned by the commune, stands at the place des Écoles, in the heart of Bédoin, as a silent testimony of the violence and hopes of this period.

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