So I watched Les Misérables for the first time the other day, and something that caught my attention was the reason that Jean Valjean was sent to prison in the first place - 5 years for stealing a loaf of bread.

That got me to wondering - was that the actual penalty for stealing bread in 1795 in France (during the French Revolution - I don't think Victor Hugo actually says when during the year though). I know that bread riots were very important in Paris, and that they had bread distributions there. It didn't seem to me like something that would have happened during that timeframe, given that it was within ~1 year of the end of the reign of terror - and a 5 year sentence for stealing bread seems like it'd make people fear the return of the terror.

So my question is: was the prison sentence that Valjean received "accurate" for what would actually happen for stealing a loaf of bread in 1795, and if not, what would likely have been the punishment?

Thanks for any information!