How Napoleon Seized the Reins of Government
(1799)
“We were plunging under full sail back to the abyss of the Terror,
without a gleam of consolation or of hope. The glory of our arms
was tarnished, our conquests lost, our territory threatened with
invasion.... All the efforts made by honest statesmen to secure the
legal enjoyment of their rights had been crushed by violence. There
seemed to be nothing before us but to return to a bloodthirsty anarchy,
the duration of which it was as impossible to foresee as it was to find
any remedy.”
Thus writes the Duke de Broglie of this period, and his picture is
none too black for reality. The attempt to establish a Constitutional
Republic had failed; the Directors had proved their inability to hold
the reins of government or to check the disaster which almost everyone
felt must inevitably come. One gleam of sunshine alone brightened
the horizon of the bankrupt nation, namely the news of Napoleon’s
landing. From the point of view of the general public this was worth
more than Masséna’s victory at Zurich over the Austrians and Russians
in the previous month, which had alone saved the unhappy country from
invasion.
Clearly the Republic needed a strong man at the head of affairs; and
in Napoleon it soon recognised its master. He arrived in Paris on the
16th October 1799, and as on the occasion of his return from Italy he
was feasted and fêted. Again he showed the same taciturnity and seeming
absence of interest. Perhaps to unbend would have been to unmask
himself; a haughty demeanour often hides a fluttering heart. He lived
quietly, affecting the unobtrusive dress of the National Institute,
seeming to take more delight in the company of philosophers than of
politicians. In reality he was waiting the turn of events, weighing his
chances of securing the reins of government, and carefully considering
the possible policies of Moreau and Bernadotte, the rival generals who
shared public sympathy with him. Either of the two great parties in
the government, the Moderates and the Democrats, the former under the
leadership of Director Sieyès, the latter under Director Barras, would
have been glad for Napoleon to throw in his lot with them; indeed, so
keen was popular enthusiasm that his glory, reflected in his brother
Lucien, carried the election of the latter as President of the Five
Hundred. Without undue haste Napoleon decided in favour of the less
aggressive and semi-monarchical policy represented by Sieyès and
supported by the majority of Ancients. Between them they determined
to overthrow the Directory, their immediate accomplices being Lucien
Bonaparte, Talleyrand, and Roederer. Later the conspirators received
the support of many of the leading generals, including Lannes,
Lefebvre, Murat, Berthier and Marmont, as well as of many influential
legislators.
Meantime accomplices in the Council of Ancients had been skilfully
at work, and had induced their colleagues to decide to transfer
the meetings of the two legislative bodies from the too-accessible
Tuileries to the less-frequented St Cloud, ostensibly because of
a Jacobin conspiracy, in reality that the Parisian mob might not
interfere, for it was hoped that the coming _coup d’état_, or “stroke
of state,” might fall with as little disturbance as possible. Régnier
de la Meurthe, who was in the General’s confidence, proposed that
Napoleon be called upon to see that the decrees of removal were
executed, which was duly carried, a large number of troops thus being
placed under his command for that purpose, which was exactly what
he required for the complete success of the plot. Proceeding to the
Tuileries on the 18th Brumaire (November 9), Napoleon addressed the
assembled Ancients in a short flattering speech, assuring them that
they were the collected wisdom of the nation, and offering the support
of his generals and of himself. When the Council of Five Hundred heard
the decree which removed them to St Cloud, there were wild scenes
which they soon found could serve no useful purpose. Military under
the command of Lannes, Murat, Mureau, Serrurier, and others had been
so disposed as to be ready for any emergency either within or without
the building, and no amount of argument could have swayed Napoleon
from his purpose. If the Directors were not actually deposed they were
practically forced to resign; Gohier and Moulins, offering opposition,
were put under arrest.
[Illustration: Installation of Napoleon as First Consul, December 25,
1799
By L. Couder
By permission of Braun, Clément & Co., Dornach (Alsace)]
On the following day Napoleon appeared before the Ancients at St Cloud
and made a short speech, then proceeded to an apartment known as the
Orangery in which the Five Hundred were sitting. The building itself
was surrounded by troops, and accompanied by a guard he made his
entrance, the soldiers remaining within call in case their presence
should be required. Immediately cries of “Down with the tyrant! No
Cromwell! Down with the Dictator! Outlaw him!” arose from different
parts of the hall. Attempts were made to lay violent hands on the
General, who was bodily removed in a half-fainting condition by a
couple of grenadiers acting under the orders of his supporter Lefebvre.
Lucien Bonaparte endeavoured to make himself heard, but without effect;
the utmost disorder reigned. General Augereau attempted to put the
question of outlawry to the vote, whereupon the former renounced his
office of President, flung off his official robes, left the building,
and joined his brother. He made a rousing speech to the troops,
declaring that the majority of the Council of the Five Hundred “is
enthralled by a faction armed with daggers who besiege the tribune and
interdict all freedom of deliberation. General, and you soldiers, and
you citizens, you can no longer recognise any as legislators but those
who are around me. Let force expel those who remained in the Orangery;
they are not the representatives of the people, but the representatives
of the dagger,” and so on. “Soldiers,” cried Napoleon, “can I rely on
you?” There seemed some hesitation, and Lucien swore to plunge his
sword in his brother’s breast should he make an attempt on the liberty
of France. This aroused the troops from their apathy, and they at once
threw in their lot with Napoleon. Bayonets were fixed and the order
given to march into the Orangery. Not a few of the politicians jumped
from the windows in their alarm. The Ancients were then informed by
Lucien that daggers had been used by their fellow politicians--probably
a figment of his imagination--and the Council of the Five Hundred
dissolved. Within an hour of midnight a little group of legislators
who sided with Napoleon passed a decree which abolished the Directory,
adjourned meetings of the Councils for three months, and created
Napoleon, Sieyès and Ducos provisional Consuls.
“The 18 Brumaire,” to again quote the Duke de Broglie, “was the
salvation of France, and the four years that followed it were a series
of triumphs, alike over our external enemies, and over the principles
of disaster and anarchy at home. These four years are, with the ten
years of the reign of Henry IV., the noblest period of French history.”
“The little Corporal” had won the day. Henceforth until his fall he was
to dominate France.