I think they might’ve been referring to the left-right political spectrum. I believe the terminology comes from the seating layout of their post-revolution government.
In the first days, it wasn't left against right but rather bottom vs top. People went on top if they agreed more with the people that lived in the mountains in ancient Greece, and called themselft mountainers. They were more radical and aspired to direct democracy. People at the bottom wanted a more monarchical/centralised government. They ended up winning but we keep thinking about how great democracy could be if mountainers could emerge again
I was not aware of that - I assumed the terminology arose purely from the 1789 French National Assembly’s seating arrangement and had no precedent. I’ll dig into Wikipedia in a bit.
I’m sure the day of the mountainers will come again - I just hope they grasp the opportunity when it happens.