The coup d’Etat of napoleon

November 9 and 10, 1799

Finally, the last destination of my time travel was to witness the event that ended the French Revolution, the Coup d’état of Napoleon. I traveled back to the Tuileries Palace that had been stormed seven years earlier by an angry mob.

Only soldiers and politicians were allowed to hear the legislative councils, so I lingered outside and talked to two commoners, a young husband and wife named Pierre and Collette, who were having a very modest picnic of slightly moldy bread on the Seine River. At first, I chatted with them about the foggy weather. They offered me a crust of bread, but I refused, not wanting to deprive them of any food. Since I was a stranger, I could sense that they were judging me carefully during a lengthy conversation about the lousy harvest that year, but they finally seemed to determine that I could be trusted. I asked them what they thought of the current government. They stated their relief that the extreme violence of Maximilien Robespierre and his followers, the Jacobins, during the Reign of Terror had ended in July of 1794. They explained that, although the government had been replaced by the Directory and two legislative assemblies called the Council of Elders and the Council of 500, they were fearful that their government was ineffective and untrustworthy.  

They confided that Collette had recently been fired as a servant at the Château de Saint-Cloud. She had been cast out by one of the five Directors, Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès, after lingering about a closed door and trying to overhear a conversation going on between Sieyès and General Napoleon Bonaparte, who had just returned from a successful military endeavor in Egypt. She also heard other names mentioned, including Napoleon’s brothers, Lucien and Joseph, another director named Roger Ducos, and their ally, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand. Of course, I pretended to know nothing of these secret meetings, wished them well, and continued my walk.

Sometime later, the streets were abuzz with the news that, in the assembly, Napoleon’s brother Lucien had revealed that the neo-Jacobins were plotting to overthrow the government. The Council of Elders had considered this and decided to transfer the Legislative Body away from the capital to St. Cloud where they would be safe from a violent mob. The people were saying that the Council gave Napoleon power to take charge of all troops in Paris. Two directors, Sieyès and Ducos, had suddenly retired from their positions and convinced the others to do the same. 

Early the next morning, I walked six miles and arrived at the Château de Saint-Cloud. Although still foggy, it was a picturesque place with many trees, hills and gardens. Even the scores of troops in the garden were a spectacle in their bright colors. I realized, disappointed, that I would not be able to sneak in to watch this one either, so I blended in with the small number of ordinary citizens who were reading placards on the walls assuring them that Bonaparte was now protecting the city. A commoner told me that Napoleon had been in there for an hour explaining his ideas for reform of the Constitution to the Council of Elders. I watched from afar as the Deputies of the Five Hundred were sworn in during a long and boring ceremony in a nearby building called the Orangery. Each one was made to promise “fidelity to the constitution of the year three” and “hatred to all tyranny.” I thought I heard sarcasm and anger in the words “all tyranny” in some of the men’s oaths. I stood close enough to the Orangery that I could see through the window and hear a little bit of conversation. I saw some of the deputies whispering and looking distraught, seeming to doubt yesterday’s decisions and distrust Napoleon.

Suddenly, Napoleon, who had just left the chamber of the Council of Elders, walked into the Orangery. He had no weapons, but he had a few soldiers with him. When he entered, I could hear hundreds of  senators’ voices shouting at him. I could make out the words, “Down with the dictator! Kill him!” Napoleon could not speak above the roar and was forced out of the room.

Then Napoleon’s younger brother, Lucien, who had been appointed president of the 500 just two weeks ago, tried to make a speech to the senators inside. He assured them of his allegiance to “liberty and the Republic.” Lucien said, “I would stab my brother before I would allow him to betray the nation’s freedom!” He took off his robe, weeping, and announced that he was no longer the president. The inside crowd continued to yell angrily until the troops went inside, rescued Lucien, and brought him outside. Lucien then told the soldiers outside that he and Napoleon had both been attacked and had almost been assassinated by “madmen” a moment ago. This surprised me because I had not seen any physical attack on Napoleon or Lucien. Upon hearing this, the soldiers held their swords in the air and yelled “Vive la Republique!” They went back inside and cleared all the “rebels” out of the hall.

People continued to talk about these events throughout the day. In the evening, I heard that the remnants of the legislature had voted to remove the neo-Jacobin deputies, draw up a new Constitution, and replace the directory with a three-man Consulate, which Napoleon would lead along with Sieyès and Talleyrand. Thus, the French Revolution had ended, and the era of Napoleon as emperor had begun.

Reflecting on this revolution, whether or not this end justified the means is up to the reader, but, as for me, I found the unyielding barbarism spurred on by extreme nationalism and fanaticism to be a sickening and frightening side of human nature.

 Bibliography:

Dwyer, Philip. The Rise of Napoleon. Second Edition. London: Taylor & Francis Group. 2024. https://www-taylorfrancis-com.eznvcc.vccs.edu/reader/download/c337bff9-8f99-4b1d-9678-d379f5f64b05/chapter/pdf?context=ubx.

Gallaher, John G. “Napoleon Rises to Power in France.” EBSCO. EBSCO Information Services, Inc. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/napoleon-rises-power-france.

Jones, PM. The French Revolution 1787-1804. Fourth Edition. London: Taylor & Francis Group. 2021. https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/account-of-the-coup-detat-du-brumaire-by-helen-maria-williams/.