In the early 1730s, the cemetery of the Saint-Médard church in Paris became the site of a mass hysteria phenomenon known as the Convulsionnaires. Followers of the Jansenist movement, a dissident Catholic sect, gathered at the tomb of a deceased deacon, experiencing violent fits, convulsions, and prophetic visions. The phenomenon attracted huge crowds and became a subject of public fascination and controversy, leading to the closure of the cemetery in 1732.

The Convulsionnaires of Saint-Médard have been referenced in French literature and poetry as a symbol of religious extremism and the irrationality of mass movements. The event inspired writers such as Voltaire, who satirized the convulsions in his philosophical writings, and it has been explored by historians and poets interested in the intersection of religion, madness, and popular culture. The convulsionnaires remain a vivid example of the power of belief to produce physical symptoms and collective behavior.