In creating the General Maximum, Maximilien Robespierre shifted the attention of the French people away from government involvement in widespread shortages of money and food to a fight between consumers and merchants. The text of the General Maximum was written towards businessmen who were profiting on a large scale from the demise of the French economy. However, in practice, the law ultimately targeted local shopkeepers, butchers, bakers, and farmers-the merchants who were profiting the least from the economic crisis. With the General Maximum, Robespierre offered the people an answer regarding whom to blame for their poverty and their hunger. Furthermore, considering its association with the Law of Suspects, when a citizen informed the government about a merchant who was in violation of the law, they were considered to have done their civic duty.