On 18th Thermidor, in order to secure the release of his mistress, to gain popular support, and to popularize his image as a Thermidorean (rather than a Jacobin), Tallien stated, “There is not a single man in prison today who does not claim to be an ardent patriot and who has not been an enemy of Robespierre’s.” In the next five days, nearly 500 prisoners, many of whom were moderates or right-wing opposition to Robespierre and the leftist Jacobins, were released. Tallien and the Thermidoreans almost immediately repealed the law of 22 July, ending the power of the Committee of Public Safety to arrest representatives without a hearing. In addition, measures were passed causing one fourth of the Committee to be up for election each month, with a one-month period between the terms that deputies could serve on the Committee.