Answer:
The answer is: “They sought to preserve the republic from its enemies”.
Explanation:
In order to preserve the French republic from the revolutionary tendencies of enemies, Robespierre and his clique justified the use of terror with his speech which was given in February, 1794:
“If the basis of popular government in peacetime is virtue, the basis of popular government during a revolution is both virtue and terror...”. So the aim of using terror was to protect the republic of France by terrorizing perceived enemies who planned to inspire a revolution and attack the rulers of the republic.