Causes of the coup d'état in France on 18 Brumaire. History of the French Revolutions. The Great French Revolution and the Establishment of a Constitutional Monarchy

On October 16, 1799, Bonaparte arrived in Paris, who on August 23, with two frigates and 500 guards (as well as with the best generals), left Egypt, leaving his army there to certain death.

In France at that time there was no general more popular than Bonaparte. To the vast majority of the French, he was not at all a commander who had failed in Egypt. On the contrary, he was in their eyes a general who was accompanied only by victory and who, to his former glory of "liberator of Italy", added a new glory of "liberator of Egypt". Now few people doubted that no less glorious victories would be won in the campaign of 1800 than during the Italian campaign in 1796-1797. Nationalist frenzy swept over the country, and it was the waves of this frenzy that elevated Bonaparte to the heights of power. The population, frightened by the menacing situation of France, saw in him the only savior and greeted him with rejoicing. Summarizing the impressions of those days, the newspaper "Moniter" wrote: "Everyone was intoxicated. The victory that always accompanied Bonaparte, this time outstripped him, and he arrived to deal the final blow to the dying coalition.

All of France was talking about the upcoming coup d'état. The reason for this was general discontent. The state was almost paralyzed by constant election campaigns. Every year, a third of the composition of the Soviets and one of the five members of the Directory were re-elected. After the elections of 1799, the royalists, on the one hand, and the supporters of the radical party, the Mountains, on the other, grew considerably stronger.

On 30 Prairial Year VIII (18 July 1799), the neo-Jacobin majority forced the resignation of three Directors, putting new ones in their place. Goya, Moulin and Roger Ducos. The remaining Barras and Sieys feared for their seats. The directory was mired in intrigues. As a result, Roger-Ducos took the side of Sieyès, who was increasingly indulged by Barras.

In the salons of the nouveau riche and in the press, the III year constitution was increasingly criticized and even demanded its revision. The mouthpiece of these social circles was Sieyes, who pursued a very specific goal, to revise the constitution of the third year, to change the structure and composition of the government, securing the first role in it.

“If anyone wished to express in the briefest words the state of affairs in France in the middle of 1799, he could stop at such a formula, in the propertied classes, the overwhelming majority considered the Directory useless and incapacitated from their point of view, and many - definitely harmful, for the poor masses both in the city and in the countryside, the Directory was a representative of the regime of rich thieves and speculators, the regime of luxury and contentment for embezzlers of public funds and the regime of hopeless hunger and oppression for workers, farm laborers, for the poor consumer, and finally, from the point of view of the soldiers of the army, the Directory was a bunch of suspicious people who make up an army without boots and without bread, and who in a few months gave the enemy what Bonaparte won in a dozen victorious battles in his time. The ground for dictatorship was ready,” writes Russian historian E.V. Tarle.

The constitution of the third year provided for the possibility of its revision. But the procedure was so complicated and required such a long time (up to 9 years!), that the “legal” way of revising it fell out. There remained a coup d'état with the participation of the army, its leaders, a popular general, who was supposed to become a "sword" in the hands of the "head" (as Sieyes put it).

In the summer of 1799, the ambitious Joubert, an ally of Bonaparte in the Italian campaign of 1796-1797, agreed to take part in the coup. But Sieyès decided that this general lacked popularity, and secured his appointment as commander of the Army of Italy, so that he defeated Suvorov and covered himself with even greater glory than Bonaparte. However, in the famous battle of Novi, Suvorov defeated the Italian army, and Joubert himself died. Then Sieyes began negotiations with MacDonald, Moreau, but they hesitated.

Meanwhile, the situation inside France escalated. On October 14, the Vendean rebels captured Manet and then Nantes. True, they were immediately expelled from these cities, but the daring sortie made a tremendous impression on the country.

For Sieyes, Bonaparte seemed like a lucky find. “Here is the person you need,” Moreau remarked upon learning of the return of Bonaparte. It was obvious to everyone that it was Napoleon, whose popularity is so great, and whose influence on the army, known for its Jacobin sentiments, is so strong, that could persuade the troops to go against parliament.

Bonaparte immediately felt strong support in the highest circles. Big financiers and suppliers frankly offered him money. The banker Kallo brought the general 500,000 francs at once. Police Minister Fouche quickly figured out who he should be guided by, and therefore the police did not interfere with the conspirators. War Minister Bernadotte did not allow himself to be drawn into the conspiracy, but remained a passive observer. On the contrary, the commander of the Parisian garrison, Lefebvre, and many other senior officers took an active part in it. The President of the Council of Elders Lemercier and many of its members were privy to the plans of the conspirators. Talleyrand, who until recently served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, offered his services to Bonaparte. The putsch plans were also favored by the fact that Lucien Bonaparte, Napoleon's younger brother, became chairman of the Council of Five Hundred.

Sieys, completely helpless in practical politics, seriously believed that Napoleon would follow his words: "You are the head, and I am the hands for everything else." At the meeting of Bonaparte with Sieyes and Talleyrand, who, without attracting much attention to himself, held the threads of the conspiracy in his hands, a program of action was determined. The conspirators did not expect serious resistance from the majority of the Soviets, but they were very afraid that the Parisian suburbs would interfere in the course of events. Therefore, the decisive act of the whole operation - the dissolution of the Soviets - was scheduled to take place not in Paris, but in one of the country residences of the former royal family.

Early in the morning of 18 Brumaire of the 8th year (November 9, 1799), generals and officers loyal to him gathered in the Paris mansion of Bonaparte: Murat and Leclerc, married to his sisters, Bernadotte, MacDonald, Bernonville and others. Bonaparte told them that the day had come when it was necessary to "save the republic." Generals and officers fully vouched for their units. At all strategically important points in Paris, at the Tuileries, and in other places, under the pretext of a review, parts of the Parisian garrison were put up. They were commanded by officers loyal to Bonaparte.

Unusually early, at 7 o'clock in the morning, the Council of Elders met in the Tuileries. On behalf of the commission of inspectors of the hall, the deputies were informed of the discovery in Paris of a "Jacobin conspiracy" that threatened the republic. In an atmosphere of uproar and confusion, a decree was passed on the transfer of the Soviets "in order to ensure their safety" from Paris to Saint-Cloud, where they should meet tomorrow, and on the appointment of General Bonaparte as commander of the troops in Paris and its environs. Nobody dared to protest.

Having received this decree, Bonaparte announced to the generals and officers gathered at his place that he was taking over the supreme command in Paris.

He went to the Tuileries, where he was greeted by the regiments drawn there. In the Council of Elders, Bonaparte uttered a few not very coherent words. Those present, however, remembered the phrase. “We want a republic based on freedom, on equality, on the sacred principles of popular representation. We will have it, I swear it."

Then Bonaparte went to the square to review the troops. On the way, in the Tuileries Garden, Barras' secretary Botto informed him that this once most powerful member of the Directory was waiting for him in the Luxembourg Palace. And here Bonaparte, addressing not so much to Botto as to the crowd surrounding them, delivered an angry diatribe against the Directory: “What have you done with France, which I left to you in such a brilliant position? I left the world to you, but found the war! I left you victories, but found defeats! I left you millions from Italy, but found poverty and predatory laws! What have you done with the one hundred thousand Frenchmen I knew, my comrades in glory? They are dead!"

Bonaparte did not go to Barras, but sent Talleyrand to him with a proposal to sign a voluntary resignation. But with the name of this director, the French associated shameless theft, outright bribery, dark scams with suppliers and speculators. Bonaparte decided that Barras was not his ally.

In the morning, Sieyès and Roger-Ducos, participants in the conspiracy, announced their resignations. Realizing that the game was lost, Barras signed a letter of resignation, they put him in a carriage and, under the escort of dragoons, sent him to the Grobois estate. Two other members of the Directory - Goya and Moulin - tried to resist the coup, but were isolated in the Luxembourg Palace, actually taken under arrest. By the end of the day, they wrote their resignations.

The first act of the coup took place according to Bonaparte's plan. The directory has ceased to exist. The command of the troops in Paris was in the hands of Bonaparte. However, it was not possible to sustain the coup within a purely "constitutional" framework. If the Council of Elders showed obedience, then in the House of Peoples' Representatives, the Council of Five Hundred, about 200 seats were occupied by Jacobins, members of the Union of Friends of Liberty and Equality dissolved by Sieyes. Among them were those who called for the extermination of tyrants with the guillotine, and where it was impossible, with the "dagger of Brutus."

On the 19th Brumaire (November 10) in Saint-Cloud, in the palace apartments, at about one in the afternoon, both Councils met. Up to 5 thousand soldiers were drawn to the palace. Bonaparte and his entourage waited in neighboring halls while the councils voted the necessary decrees instructing the general to draw up a new constitution, and then dispersed. But time passed, and the right decision was not made.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Bonaparte entered the hall of the Council of Elders. The deputies demanded an explanation from him: is there really a conspiracy against the republic and are not yesterday's events a violation of the constitution? Bonaparte responded to this accusation with impudence: “The Constitution! Does it suit you to refer to it? You violated her on the 18th fructidor, violated her on the 22nd floréal, violated the 30th prairial. Constitution! All the parties were covered by it, and they all violated it. It can no longer serve you as a means of salvation, because it no longer inspires respect for anyone. Bonaparte again swore his allegiance to the republic, denied the accusation of wanting to establish a "military government" and assured that as soon as the dangers that forced him to impose "emergency powers" were over, he would renounce them. He also threatened people "who would like to return to us the Convention, revolutionary committees and scaffolds."

Then Bonaparte, surrounded by generals and grenadiers, appeared in the Council of Five Hundred. The assembly, dominated by the Jacobins, was indignant. During the day that has passed since the beginning of such rapidly unfolding events, the deputies of the Legislative Corps have come to their senses. Speakers loudly accused Bonaparte of treason, threatened to outlaw him. The deputies surrounded the general, seized him by the collar, pushed him. Short, then still thin, never distinguished by physical strength, nervous, subject to some sort of epilepsy-like seizures, Bonaparte was half strangled by the excited deputies. Chairman Lucien Bonaparte tried in vain to calm the assembly. The grenadiers surrounded the badly battered general and led him out of the hall. The indignant deputies returned to their places and with furious cries demanded that the proposal that declared Bonaparte outlaws be voted on.

If the deputies had immediately voted this decree, then perhaps the events of that day would have turned out differently. But the deputies started an oath of allegiance to the constitution of the III year with the call of each to the rostrum. It took a lot of time, which Lucien Bonaparte took advantage of. He rushed to the square and turned to the soldiers for help, saying that they wanted to kill their general. “As for me,” added Lucien, “I swear that I will strike my own brother in the very heart if he raises his hand to the freedom of the French!” In a loud voice, Murat gave the order: "Throw all this audience out!"

To the drum roll, a detachment of grenadiers, with Murat and Leclerc at the head, broke into the greenhouse where the Council of Five Hundred met. According to eyewitnesses, while the roar of drums was rapidly approaching the meeting room, voices were heard among the deputies, offering to resist and die on the spot. But when the grenadiers with guns at the ready invaded the hall, the deputies fled in panic. The whole scene lasted no more than five minutes. The Council of Elders did not have to be dispersed. Its deputies fled on their own.

On the same evening, Lucien Bonaparte gathered in the greenhouse most of the members of the Council of Elders and no more than 30 members of the Council of Five Hundred, who recognized themselves as a valid majority of the Legislative Corps and adopted a series of decrees that legally formalized the results of the coup d'etat. It was announced that the Directory ceased to exist. From the Legislative Corps, the meetings of which were allegedly only "postponed" (in reality, it no longer met), 62 deputies accused of "excesses" were excluded. The executive power was handed over to three temporary Consuls of the French Republic - Sieyes, Roger-Ducos and Bonaparte. The Soviets were replaced by two Legislative Commissions, each with 25 members; empowered to approve laws submitted by consuls.

France was at the feet of Bonaparte. At two o'clock in the morning three consuls took an oath of allegiance to the republic. Late at night Bonaparte left Setz-Klu.

Sieys is credited with the phrase: "... I made the 18th Brumaire, but not the 19th." Indeed, the coup was prepared by Sieys, and the next day Usurped by Bonaparte. On the 18th, power was in the hands of Sieys, and Bonaparte was only the sword he needed, and on the 19th the sword fell out of obedience: it itself became power.

After the coup, Bonaparte acted decisively. Sieyes attempt> and using the new constitution, giving the general the title of "honorary Elector" and making him a symbol of powerlessness, failed. Contrary to Sieyes' intentions, another constitution was drafted within a week, drawn up in accordance with Bonaparte's principle: "Constitutions should be short and obscure." From now on, three consuls were at the head of the state. The first consul - and this was Bonaparte - received virtually dictatorial powers. Like both co-consuls, he was elected by the Senate for ten years, both co-consuls performed only an advisory function. Only the declaration of war and peace was the competence not of the First Consul, but of the legislature. But the right to legislate was the prerogative of the First Consul, and only he could appoint ministers, generals, etc.

Bonaparte was so sure of his positions that in January 1800 he submitted the constitution for public discussion. And he won with an impressive result - three million "for" and only 1562 votes "against". In a proclamation issued on December 15, 1799, Bonaparte declared that “the revolution has returned to its original principles. It's over."

Since the imaginary danger from the Jacobins served as the pretext for the coup on 18 Brumaire, the consular decree of 20 Brumaire declared “outlawed” and subject to deportation to Guiana thirty-four former Jacobins, including Aren, F. Lepeletier, Destrem, and nineteen other persons were prescribed intern at La Rochelle. However, this decision was canceled five days later. They limited themselves to the fact that these persons were placed under the supervision of the police.

In Paris, the coup of 18 Brumaire met with no resistance. The Parisian sans-culottes reacted with complete indifference to the overthrow of the unpopular regime. Protests against the events of 18-19 Brumaire were heard only in some departments where Jacobin clubs still survived. But all calls to take up arms did not find a response among the people.

Among the military, there were certain illusions about Bonaparte. “This amazing and noble revolution passed without any shocks ... Public opinion is on the side of freedom; the best days of the French Revolution are repeating... It seemed to me that I was reliving the year 1789 again,” General Lefebvre commented on the events of 18–19 Brumaire.

Julien Jr. also believed that by overthrowing the Directory, Bonaparte had saved both the revolution and the republic. It seemed to him that the general now had no other support than the Republicans. “Only the Republicans can save Bonaparte, and only he can save them,” he wrote.

But the coup of 18 Brumaire was greeted with the greatest joy by those who best understood its true meaning: bankers, breeders, army suppliers. The newspaper “Moniter” wrote about this: “The changes that have taken place are greeted with satisfaction by everyone ... In particular, they are applauded by merchants; trust is restored; circulation is restored; a lot of money goes into the treasury. And these hopes were not disappointed.

The coup d'état of 18–19 Brumaire of the 8th year was called by contemporaries the "revolution of 18 Brumaire". But it was not a revolution. The hopes of those who saw in Bonaparte the defender of the revolution and the republic turned out to be an illusion. The regime of the Directory was replaced by a Bonapartist dictatorship, the main support of which was the top of the army.

1789–1791
1791–1793
1793–1799
1799–1814
Napoleon's coup and the establishment of the empire
1814–1848
1848–1851
1851–1870
1870–1875
Revolution of 1870 and establishment of the Third Republic

In 1787, an economic recession began in France, gradually turning into a crisis: production fell, the French market was flooded with cheaper English goods; to this were added crop failures and natural disasters, leading to the death of crops and vineyards. In addition, France spent a lot on unsuccessful wars and supporting the American Revolution. There was not enough income (by 1788, expenses exceeded income by 20%), and the treasury took loans, the interest on which was unbearable for it. The only way to increase revenues to the treasury was to deprive the tax privileges of the first and second estates. Under the Old Order, French society was divided into three classes: the first - the clergy, the second - the nobility and the third - all the rest. The first two estates had a number of privileges, including being exempted from the need to pay taxes..

Attempts by the government to abolish the tax privileges of the first two estates failed, meeting the resistance of the noble parliaments. Parliaments- before the revolution, the highest courts of the fourteen regions of France. Until the 15th century, only the Parlement of Paris existed, then the remaining thirteen appeared.(that is, the highest courts of the Old Order period). Then the government announced the convening of the Estates General Estates General- a body that included representatives of the three estates and convened on the initiative of the king (as a rule, to resolve a political crisis). Each estate sat separately and had one vote., which included representatives of all three classes. Unexpectedly for the crown, this caused a wide public outcry: hundreds of pamphlets were published, voters issued orders to deputies: few people wanted a revolution, but everyone hoped for change. The impoverished nobility demanded financial support from the crown, while at the same time counting on limiting its power; the peasants protested against the rights of the lords and hoped to get the land as their property; among the townspeople, the ideas of the enlighteners about the equality of all before the law and about equal access to positions became popular (in January 1789, the well-known brochure of Abbé Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes “What is the third estate?” was published, containing the following passage: “1. What is the third estate - Everything. 2. What has it been politically so far? - Nothing. 3. What does it require? - To become something"). Based on the ideas of the Enlightenment, many believed that the nation, not the king, should have the highest power in the country, that absolute monarchy should be replaced by a limited one, and that traditional law should be replaced by a constitution - a collection of clearly defined laws that are the same for all citizens.

The Great French Revolution and the Establishment of a Constitutional Monarchy

The storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. Painting by Jean Pierre Hoehl. 1789

Bibliothèque nationale de France

Chronology

Beginning of the Estates General

Proclamation of the National Assembly

Storming of the Bastille

Adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

Adoption of the first French constitution

On May 5, 1789, a meeting of the Estates General opened at Versailles. By tradition, each class had one vote during the voting. Deputies from the third estate, who were twice as many as deputies from the first and second, demanded an individual vote, but the government did not agree to this. In addition, contrary to the expectations of the deputies, the authorities brought up for discussion only financial reforms. On June 17, the deputies from the Third Estate declared themselves the National Assembly, that is, representatives of the entire French nation. On June 20, they vowed not to disperse until a constitution was drafted. Some time later, the National Assembly declared itself the Constituent Assembly, thus declaring its intention to establish a new state system in France.

Soon a rumor spread around Paris that the government was gathering troops to Versailles and was planning to disperse the Constituent Assembly. An uprising began in Paris; On July 14, hoping to seize weapons, the people stormed the Bastille. This symbolic event is considered the beginning of the revolution.

After that, the Constituent Assembly gradually turned into the highest authority in the country: Louis XVI, who sought to avoid bloodshed at any cost, sooner or later approved any of his decrees. Thus, from August 5 to August 11, all peasants became personally free, and the privileges of the two estates and individual regions were abolished.

The overthrow of the absolute monarchy
On August 26, 1789, the Constituent Assembly approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. On October 5, the crowd went to Versailles, where Louis XVI was, and demanded that the king and his family move to Paris and approve the Declaration. Louis was forced to agree - and the absolute monarchy ceased to exist in France. This was enshrined in the constitution adopted by the Constituent Assembly on September 3, 1791.

Having adopted the constitution, the Constituent Assembly dispersed. The laws were now approved by the Legislative Assembly. Executive power remained with the king, who turned into an official who obeyed the will of the people. Officials and priests were no longer appointed, but elected; Church property was nationalized and sold.

Symbols

"Freedom equality Brotherhood ". The formula "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité", which became the motto of the French Republic, first appeared on December 5, 1790, in an unspoken speech by Maximilian Robespierre, one of the most influential French revolutionaries, elected in 1789 to the States General from the third estate.

Bastille. By July 14, there were only seven prisoners in the Bastille, the ancient royal prison, so its storming had a symbolic, not pragmatic meaning, although it was taken in the hope of finding weapons there. By decision of the municipality, the taken Bastille was destroyed to the ground.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. The Declaration of the Rights of Man stated that "men are born and remain free and equal in rights" and declared human rights to liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression to be natural and inalienable. In addition, it consolidated freedom of speech, press and religion and abolished estates and titles. As a preamble, it entered the first constitution (1791) and still forms the basis of French constitutional law, being a legally binding document.

The execution of the king and the establishment of the republic

The last moments of the life of Louis XVI. Engraving after a painting by Charles Benazech. 1793

Wellcome Library

Chronology

Beginning of the war with Austria

Deposition of Louis XVI

Start of the National Convention

Execution of Louis XVI

On August 27, 1791, in the Saxon castle of Pillnitz, the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II and Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II (brother of Louis XVI's wife Marie Antoinette), under pressure from aristocrats who emigrated from France, signed a document declaring their readiness to support the King of France, including military . Girondins Girondins- a circle that has developed around the deputies from the department of the Gironde, who advocated further changes, but adhered to relatively moderate views. In 1792, many of them opposed the king's execution., supporters of the republic, took advantage of this to persuade the Legislative Assembly to go to war with Austria, which was declared on April 20, 1792. When the French troops began to suffer defeat, the royal family was blamed for this.

Overthrow of the constitutional monarchy
On August 10, 1792, an uprising took place, as a result of which Louis was overthrown and imprisoned on charges of betraying the national interests. The Legislative Assembly resigned its powers: now, in the absence of the king, it was necessary to write a new constitution. For these purposes, a new legislative body was assembled - the elected National Convention, which first of all proclaimed France a republic.

In December, the trial began, which found the king guilty of maliciously against the freedom of the nation and sentenced him to death.

Symbols

Marseillaise. March written by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (military engineer, part-time poet and composer) on April 25, 1792. In 1795, the Marseillaise became the national anthem of France, lost that status under Napoleon, and finally regained it in 1879 under the Third Republic. By the second half of the 19th century, it had become an international song of left-wing resistance.

Jacobin dictatorship, Thermidorian coup and establishment of the Consulate

The overthrow of Robespierre at the National Convention on July 27, 1794. Painting by Max Adamo. 1870

Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin

Chronology

By decree of the Convention, an Extraordinary Criminal Tribunal was established, which in October will be renamed the Revolutionary Tribunal

Creation of the Committee of Public Safety

Expulsion of the Girondins from the Convention

Adoption of the Year I Constitution, or Montañar Constitution

Decree on the introduction of a new calendar

Thermidorian coup

Execution of Robespierre and his supporters

Adoption of the Constitution III year. Formation of the Directory

Coup of 18 Brumaire. Change of Directory by the Consulate

Despite the execution of the king, France continued to suffer setbacks in the war. Monarchist rebellions broke out inside the country. In March 1793, the Convention created the Revolutionary Tribunal, which was supposed to try "traitors, conspirators and counter-revolutionaries", and after it - the Committee of Public Safety, which was supposed to coordinate the country's domestic and foreign policy.

Expulsion of the Girondins, Jacobin dictatorship

The Girondins gained great influence in the Committee of Public Safety. Many of them did not support the execution of the king and the introduction of emergency measures, some expressed outrage that Paris was imposing its will on the country. Montagnards competing with them Montagnards- a relatively radical group, based, in particular, on the urban poor. The name comes from the French word montagne - mountain: at meetings of the Legislative Assembly, members of this group usually took seats in the upper rows on the left side of the hall. sent against the Girondins disaffected urban poor.

On May 31, 1793, a crowd gathered at the Convention demanding the exclusion of the Girondins, who were accused of treason. On June 2, the Girondins were placed under house arrest, and on October 31, many of them were guillotined by the verdict of the Revolutionary Tribunal.

The expulsion of the Girondins led to civil war. Despite the fact that at the same time France was at war with many European states, the constitution adopted in 1793 did not come into force: before the onset of peace, the Convention introduced a "temporary revolutionary order of government." Practically all power was now concentrated in his hands; The Convention sent commissars with great powers to the localities. The Montagnards, who now had a huge advantage in the Convention, declared their opponents enemies of the people and sentenced them to guillotining. The Montagnards abolished all senior duties and began to sell the lands of emigrants to the peasants. In addition, they introduced a maximum to which the prices of the most necessary goods, including bread, could rise; in order to avoid shortages, they had to take grain from the peasants by force.

By the end of 1793, most of the rebellions were suppressed, and the situation at the front was reversed - the French army went on the offensive. Nevertheless, the number of victims of terror did not decrease. In September 1793, the Convention passed the Suspicious Law, which ordered the detention of all people who were not accused of any crime, but could have committed one. From June 1794, interrogations of defendants and their right to lawyers, as well as mandatory interrogations of witnesses, were abolished at the Revolutionary Tribunal; for people found guilty by the tribunal, there was now only one punishment - the death penalty.

Thermidorian coup  

In the spring of 1794, the Robespierreists began to talk about the need for a final wave of executions, which would cleanse the Convention of opponents of the revolution. Almost all members of the Convention felt that their lives were in danger. On July 27, 1794 (or 9 Thermidor II of the revolutionary calendar), the leader of the Montagnards, Maximilian Robespierre, and many of his supporters were arrested by members of the Convention who feared for their lives. On July 28 they were executed.

After the coup, terror quickly declined, the Jacobin Club Jacobin club- a political club formed in 1789 and meeting in a Jacobin monastery. The official name is the Society of Friends of the Constitution. Many of its members were deputies to the Constituent and Legislative Assembly, and later to the Convention; they played a big part in the policy of terror that was carried out. was closed. The power of the Committee of Public Safety diminished. Thermidorians Thermidorians- members of the Convention who supported the Thermidorian coup. proclaimed a general amnesty, many of the surviving Girondins returned to the Convention.

Coup of 18 Brumaire

A new conspiracy has matured within the Directory itself. On November 9, 1799 (or 18 Brumaire, 8th year of the Republic), two of the five directors, together with Bonaparte, carried out a coup, dispersing the Council of Five Hundred and the Council of Elders. The Directory was also deprived of power. Instead, the Consulate arose - a government consisting of three consuls. All three conspirators became them.

Symbols

 Tricolor. In 1794, the tricolor became the official flag of France. To the white color of the Bourbons, used on the flag before the revolution, blue, the symbol of Paris, and red, the color of the National Guard, were added.

Republican calendar. On October 5, 1793, a new calendar was put into circulation, the first year of which was 1792. All the months in the calendar received new names: time from the revolution had to start anew. In 1806 the calendar was abolished.

Louvre Museum. Despite the fact that some parts of the Louvre were open to the public even before the revolution, the palace turned into a full-fledged museum only in 1793.

The coup of Napoleon Bonaparte and the establishment of the empire

Portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul. Fragment of a painting by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. 1803-1804

Wikimedia Commons

Chronology

Adoption of the Constitution of the VIII year, which established the dictatorship of the first consul

The adoption of the Constitution of the X year, which made the powers of the first consul for life

Adoption of the Constitution of the XII year, the proclamation of Napoleon as emperor

On December 25, 1799, a new constitution was adopted (Constitution of Year VIII), created with the participation of Napoleon Bonaparte. A government came to power, consisting of three consuls, named directly in the constitution by name, and elected for ten years (as a one-time exception, the third consul was then appointed for five years). Napoleon Bonaparte was named the first of the three consuls. Almost all real power was concentrated in his hands: only he had the right to propose new laws, appoint members of the State Council, ambassadors, ministers, senior military leaders and prefects of departments. The principles of separation of powers and popular sovereignty were actually abolished.

In 1802, the Council of State put to a referendum the question of whether Bonaparte should be made consul for life. As a result, the consulate became for life, and the first consul received the right to appoint his successor.

In February 1804, a monarchist conspiracy was uncovered, the purpose of which was to assassinate Napoleon. After that, proposals began to arise to make Napoleon's power hereditary in order to exclude such a thing in the future.

Establishment of an empire
On May 18, 1804, the XII Constitution was adopted, approved by referendum. The administration of the republic was now transferred to the "Emperor of the French", who declared Napoleon Bonaparte. In December, the emperor was crowned by the Pope.

In 1804, the Civil Code, written with the participation of Napoleon, was adopted - a set of laws that regulated the life of French citizens. The code affirmed, in particular, the equality of all before the law, the inviolability of landed property and secular marriage. Napoleon managed to normalize the French economy and finances: due to constant recruitment into the army, both in the countryside and in the city, he managed to cope with an excess of workers, which led to an increase in income. He dealt harshly with the opposition and limited freedom of speech. The role of propaganda, glorifying the invincibility of French weapons and the greatness of France, became enormous.

Symbols

Eagle. In 1804, Napoleon introduced a new imperial coat of arms, which depicted an eagle - a symbol of the Roman Empire, which was present on the coats of arms of other great powers.

Bee. This symbol, dating back to the Merovingians, became the personal emblem of Napoleon and replaced the lily flower in heraldic ornaments.

Napoleondor. Under Napoleon, a coin called the Napoleon (Napoléon d’or, literally “golden Napoleon”) received circulation: it depicted the profile of Bonaparte.

Legion of Honor. Order founded by Bonaparte on May 19, 1802 following the example of knightly orders. Belonging to the order testified to the official recognition of special merits to France.

Restoration of the Bourbons and the July Monarchy

Freedom leading the people. Painting by Eugene Delacroix. 1830

Musee du Louvre

Chronology

Napoleon's invasion of Russia

Capture of Moscow

Battle of Leipzig ("Battle of the Nations")

Abdication of Napoleon from the throne, proclamation of King Louis XVIII

Promulgation of the Charter of 1814

Escape of Napoleon from Elba

Capture of Paris

Battle of Waterloo

Abdication of Napoleon

Accession to the throne of Charles X

Signing of the July ordinances

Mass unrest

Abdication of Charles X

The Duke of Orleans' oath of allegiance to the new Charter. From that day on he became king of the French, Louis Philippe I.

As a result of the Napoleonic Wars, the French Empire turned into the most powerful European power with a stable state system and finances put in order. In 1806, Napoleon forbade all European countries subject to him to trade with England - as a result of the industrial revolution, England forced out French goods from the markets. The so-called Continental Blockade damaged the English economy, but by 1811 the resulting economic crisis had affected all of Europe, including France. The failures of the French troops in the Iberian Peninsula began to destroy the image of the invincible French army. Finally, in October 1812, the French had to begin a retreat from Moscow, which was occupied in September.

Restoration of the Bourbons
On October 16-19, 1813, the battle of Leipzig took place, in which the Napoleonic army was defeated. In April 1814, Napoleon abdicated and went into exile on the island of Elba, and Louis XVIII, brother of the executed Louis XVI, ascended the throne.

Power returned to the Bourbon dynasty, but Louis XVIII was forced to grant the people a constitution - the so-called Charter of 1814, according to which each new law had to be approved by two chambers of parliament. In France, a constitutional monarchy was again established, but not all citizens and not even all adult men had the right to vote, but only those who had a certain level of prosperity.

One Hundred Days of Napoleon

Taking advantage of the fact that Louis XVIII did not have popular support, Napoleon fled from Elba on February 26, 1815 and landed in France on March 1. A significant part of the army joined him, and in less than a month Napoleon occupied Paris without a fight. Attempts to negotiate peace with European countries failed, and he had to re-enter the war. On June 18, the French army was defeated by the Anglo-Prussian troops at the Battle of Waterloo, on June 22 Napoleon abdicated again, and on July 15 he surrendered to the British and went into exile on the island of St. Helena. Power returned to Louis XVIII.

July Revolution

In 1824, Louis XVIII died, and his brother Charles X ascended the throne. The new monarch took a more conservative course. In the summer of 1829, while the Chambers of Deputies were closed, Charles appointed the extremely unpopular Prince Jules Auguste Armand Marie Polignac as Minister of Foreign Affairs. On July 25, 1830, the king signed ordinances (decrees that had the force of state laws) - on the temporary abolition of freedom of the press, the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, the increase in the electoral qualification (now only landowners could vote) and the appointment of new elections to the lower house. Many newspapers were closed.

The ordinances of Charles X caused mass indignation. On July 27, riots began in Paris, and on July 29 the revolution ended, the main city centers were occupied by the rebels. On August 2, Charles X abdicated and left for England.

The Duke of Orleans, Louis Philippe, a representative of the younger branch of the Bourbons, who had a relatively liberal reputation, became the new king of France. During his coronation, he took an oath on the Charter of 1830 drawn up by deputies and became not "king by the grace of God" like his predecessors, but "king of the French". The new constitution lowered not only property, but also the age limit for voters, deprived the king of legislative power, banned censorship and returned the tricolor flag.

Symbols

Lilies. After the overthrow of Napoleon, the coat of arms with an eagle returned to replace the coat of arms with three lilies, which symbolized royal power already in the Middle Ages.

"Liberty Leading the People". Eugène Delacroix's famous painting, centered on Marianne (symbolizing the French Republic since 1792) holding the French tricolor in her hand as the personification of the struggle for freedom, was inspired by the July Revolution of 1830.

Revolution of 1848 and establishment of the Second Republic

Lamartine in front of the Paris City Hall rejects the red flag on February 25, 1848. Painting by Henri Felix Emmanuel Philippoteaux

Musee du Petit-Palais, Paris

Chronology

The beginning of the riots

Resignation of the Guizot government

Approval of a new constitution that consolidated the republican form of government

General presidential election, victory for Louis Bonaparte

By the end of the 1840s, the policies of Louis Philippe and his Prime Minister François Guizot, supporters of gradual and cautious development and opponents of universal suffrage, ceased to suit many: some demanded the expansion of suffrage, others demanded the return of the republic and the introduction of suffrage for all. In 1846 and 1847 there was a poor harvest. Hunger has begun. Since rallies were banned, in 1847 political banquets gained popularity, at which monarchical power was actively criticized and toasts to the republic were proclaimed. Political banquets were also banned in February.

Revolution of 1848
The ban on political banquets sparked riots. On February 23, Prime Minister François Guizot resigned. A huge crowd was waiting for him to leave the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. One of the soldiers guarding the ministry fired, most likely by mistake, and this gave rise to a bloody clash. After that, the Parisians built barricades and moved towards the royal palace. The king abdicated and fled to England. France proclaimed a republic and introduced universal suffrage for men over 21 years of age. Parliament (returning the name "National Assembly") became unicameral again.

On December 10-11, 1848, the first general presidential election took place, which was unexpectedly won by Napoleon's nephew, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, who received about 75% of the vote. In the elections to the Legislative Assembly, the Republicans received only 70 seats.

Symbols

 Barricades. Barricades were erected on the streets of Paris during every revolution, but it was during the revolution of 1848 that almost all of Paris was barricaded. The Parisian omnibuses launched in the late 1820s were also used as material for the barricades.

1851 coup and Second Empire

Portrait of Emperor Napoleon III. Fragment of a painting by Franz Xaver Winterhalter. 1855

Chronology

Dissolution of the National Assembly

Promulgation of the new constitution. By changes made to its text on December 25 of the same year, the Second Empire was created

Proclamation of Napoleon III as Emperor of the French

The Republicans no longer enjoyed the confidence of either the President, or the Parliament, or the people. In 1852, Louis Napoleon's presidential term was coming to an end. According to the constitution of 1848, he could be elected again only after the expiration of the next four-year term. In 1850 and 1851, supporters of Louis Napoleon demanded several times to revise this article of the constitution, but the Legislative Assembly was against it.

Coup of 1851
On December 2, 1851, President Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, supported by the army, dissolved the National Assembly and arrested its opposition members. The riots that began in Paris and in the provinces were harshly suppressed.

Under the leadership of Louis Napoleon, a new constitution was prepared, extending the presidential powers for ten years. In addition, the bicameral parliament was returned, with the deputies of its upper house appointed by the president for life.

Empire Restoration
On November 7, 1852, the Senate appointed by Louis Napoleon proposed the restoration of the empire. As a result of a referendum, this decision was approved, and on December 2, 1852, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte became Emperor Napoleon III.

Until the 1860s, the powers of Parliament were reduced and freedom of the press was limited, but from the 1860s the course changed. In order to strengthen his authority, Napoleon started new wars. He planned to reverse the decisions of the Congress of Vienna and rebuild the whole of Europe, giving each nation its own state.

Proclamation of the Republic
On September 4, France was again proclaimed a republic. A provisional government was chosen, headed by Adolphe Thiers.

On September 19, the Germans began the siege of Paris. There was famine in the city, the situation worsened. In February 1871, elections were held for the National Assembly, in which the monarchists won the majority. Adolphe Thiers became head of government. On February 26, the government was forced to sign a preliminary peace treaty, followed by a German parade on the Champs Elysees, which many citizens perceived as treason.

In March, the government, which had no funds, refused to pay the National Guard's salaries and tried to disarm it.

Parisian Commune

On March 18, 1871, an uprising broke out in Paris, as a result of which a group of left-wing radical politicians came to power. On March 26, they held elections for the Paris Commune, the council of the city of Paris. The government led by Thiers fled to Versailles. But the power of the commune did not last long: on May 21, government troops went on the offensive. By May 28, the uprising was brutally crushed - a week of fighting between the troops and the Communards was called "Bloody Week".

After the fall of the commune, the position of the monarchists again strengthened, but since they all supported different dynasties, in the end the republic was saved. In 1875, the Constitutional Laws were passed, which approved the post of president and a parliament elected on the basis of universal male suffrage. The Third Republic lasted until 1940.

Since then, the form of government in France has remained republican, with executive power passing from one president to another as a result of elections.

Symbols

Red flag. The traditional republican flag was the French tricolor, but the members of the commune, among whom were many socialists, preferred a single color red. The paraphernalia of the Paris Commune, one of the key events for the formation of communist ideology, was adopted by Russian revolutionaries as well.

Vendôme column. One of the important symbolic gestures of the Paris Commune was the demolition of the Vendome Column, erected in honor of Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz. In 1875 the column was installed again.

Sacre Coeur. The neo-Byzantine style basilica was founded in 1875 in memory of the victims of the Franco-Prussian War and has become one of the important symbols of the Third Republic.

The editors would like to thank Dmitry Bovykin for his help in working on the material.

On 18-19 Brumaire of the 8th year of the Republic (November 9-10, 1799), a coup d'etat took place in France, as a result of which the Directory was deprived of power, and a new provisional government was created, headed by three consuls - Napoleon, Roger Ducos and Sieyes. This event is considered the end of the French Revolution (1789 - 1799).

In the early morning of 18 Brumaire (November 9), senior officers of the French armed forces began to gather at the mansion on Chantarin Street (home of Napoleon Bonaparte). Among them were commanders whose names all of France knew: Moreau, Macdonald, Bernadotte, Lefebvre, and others. Almost simultaneously, the Council of Elders (the French upper house of the legislative assembly) was assembled in Tuilliers under the chairmanship of Lemercier. The Council was assembled under the influence of rumors of an alleged Jacobin conspiracy, disbanded by the leader of the moderate Republican party, Director Sieyès. He developed his own state project and entered into an alliance with Napoleon.

At a meeting of the Council, Deputy Cornet spoke about the "terrible conspiracy of the Jacobins", then Renier proposed to adopt a decree on the transfer of the legislative body to Saint-Cloud and on the appointment of General Bonaparte, popular in society, as commander of the garrison of Paris and the district. Bonaparte received the right to take all measures that are necessary for the security of the republic, all citizens were ordered to assist him at the first request on his part. The Council of Elders was to address the people with a special manifesto, in which the decreed measures were justified by the need to pacify people striving for tyranny and thereby ensure internal peace in France. The uninitiated deputies were taken by surprise and did not object. Renier's proposals were accepted unanimously.

At 8 o'clock in the morning, a carriage arrived at Napoleon's house, and the official representatives of the Council solemnly handed high powers to the general. It was announced to the assembled senior officers that Bonaparte was taking over the supreme command. Bonaparte, with his brilliant retinue, arrived at the Tuileries Palace, where the generals were waiting for the regiments pulled there in advance. Everything went smoothly and easily. It was not possible only to attract the majority of the members of the Directory to the conspiracy. The President of the Directory, Goya, was quick-witted and did not come to Napoleon, hurrying to Moulin, and then with him to Barras (he was an accomplice in the conspiracy, but in the end he was among the losers).

In the palace, Napoleon Bonaparte delivered a brief speech to the Council. He emphasized his loyalty to republican principles. Two directors - Sieyes and Roger-Ducos, by prior arrangement, resigned and openly supported the movement. Barras, finding himself without support and abandoned by everyone, making sure that the game was lost, without objection signed the text of the resignation letter prepared in advance and brought by Talleyrand. The remaining two directors - Goya and Moulin were taken into custody and also resigned. As a result, the executive power that existed at that time was destroyed. The directory has ceased to exist. Bonaparte ordered the generals loyal to him to occupy all the important objects of the capital: Lannes was entrusted with the Tuileries, Murat - the Bourbon Palace, Marmont - Versailles, etc.

The Council of Elders and the Council of Five Hundred (the lower house of the French Legislative Assembly) were to meet on the 19th Brumaire at Saint-Cloud. At 12 o'clock in the afternoon, both chambers of the legislative assembly gathered in Saint-Cloud, the Council of Elders - in one of the halls of the palace, the council of five hundred - in the greenhouse. During the day that had passed since the beginning of the events, the deputies "sobered up" and began to ask questions. Why was the Directory dissolved? What kind of conspiracy are we talking about? Why was Napoleon given such high powers? In each of the councils there were many participants in the conspiracy. Thus, Lucien Bonaparte led the Council of Five Hundred. But they failed to take the leadership into their own hands and complete the coup. On the contrary, among the deputies there was a growing determination, especially in the Jacobin-dominated Council of Five Hundred, to change the course of events. They proposed to renew the universal oath of allegiance to the Year III constitution.

Bonaparte, Sieyes and their associates at that time were located in the spacious offices of the first floor of the palace in Saint-Cloud, waiting for the victorious news. However, the reports were disappointing. The deputies were in no hurry to form a new government and expressed doubts about the necessity and even the legality of the emergency decisions adopted yesterday. Events suddenly began to take on a dangerous tone. General Augereau even advised Bonaparte to resign as soon as possible. In case of defeat, Bonaparte and his supporters faced the death penalty.

Bonaparte, having lost patience, went into the meeting room of the Council of Elders. He was given the floor, and he made a long speech in which he repeated that he was not a dictator, not Caesar, and not Cromwell, that he served only the Republic. Bonaparte was interrupted and began to demand exact information about the conspiracy, evidence, names. Napoleon avoided direct answers, only named Barras and Moulin as instigators. This only increased the doubts of the deputies. Having achieved nothing, the general left the meeting room and entered the hall where the Council of Five Hundred met. Here he was received much worse. The deputies shouted: "Down with the dictator!", "Outlaw him!" etc. Napoleon was surrounded by an angry crowd, he was confused, they pushed him, tore his clothes, and in fact he was saved by General Lefebvre, who, with an exclamation: “Let's save our general!”, Ordered the grenadiers to take Napoleon out of the hall.

Murat, who retained his full presence of mind, offered to act tough, like a soldier. Napoleon doubted, could not decide on anything. For some time he was in a state of confusion. The ranks of his supporters were rapidly thinning out. Defeat was close.

By the evening, when the situation became critical, Napoleon returned to his usual vigor. Together with Murat and Lucien, he began to circle around the troops and shouted that they wanted to kill him, that conspirators had gathered in the Council of Five Hundred. The soldiers sympathetically met his speeches and Bonaparte gave Murat a sign. A detachment of grenadiers with a drumbeat under the command of Murat and Leclerc moved into the meeting room of the Council of Five Hundred. Throwing open the doors, Murat shouted: "Throw all this pack out!" There were no heroes among the deputies, they offered no resistance, and the hall was quickly cleared.

The coup was completed - the legislative assembly (Council of Elders and Council of Five Hundred) were struck out of. The soldiers again drove some of the deputies into the hall, and they, under dictation, adopted a resolution on the creation of a temporary consular commission composed of Bonaparte, Sieyes and Roger Ducos and two commissions, which were entrusted with the task of preparing constitutional laws. Announcements drawn up by Minister of Police Fouche were posted on the walls of buildings, which informed the townspeople about important events that had taken place. The announcements told the Parisians that General Bonaparte had exposed the counter-revolutionary plot in the Council of Five Hundred, that an assassination attempt had been made on him, but that the general had been saved and that the legislature had taken all measures to assert the "triumph and glory of the Republic."

The coup of 18-19 Brumaire did not meet with resistance from either the authorities, or political forces, or the people. Napoleon Bonaparte actually just took power into his own hands. The "last Jacobins" were disappointed with the policy of the Directory and were not going to defend the murderers of Robespierre and Babeuf, corrupt officials and speculators who profited from the needs of the people. They did not want to fight for such power. They simply went to the side, maintaining neutrality. A small part even supported the supporters of Napoleon. The people also remained a "silent spectator." The Directory regime completely rotted and naturally collapsed, without putting up practically any resistance. Some directors themselves took part in the coup, hoping to benefit from it.

, Sieyes , Charles Maurice Talleyrand , Ducos , Paul Barras , Lucien Bonaparte , Joseph Bonaparte , Cambaceres , Charles Francois Lebrun and others

Coup of 18 Brumaire brought the general Napoleon Bonaparte to power as first consul from France and according to the majority historians, finished French Revolution. It's bloodless coup d'état overthrew catalog, replacing it with French consulate. This happened on November 9, 1799, which was the 18 brumaire, year VIII under french republican calendar.

context

(2) In 1851:

In 1852 Karl Marx wrote 18th Brumaire Louis Bonaparte about much later events, coup 1851 years against Second Republic By Napoleon III who was the nephew of Napoleon. Marx considered Louis Napoleon to be a mediocre politician compared to his world conquering uncle, as expressed in Marx's oft-quoted discoveries words : " Hegel. Notices somewhere that all the great world-historical facts and characters appear, so to speak, twice he forgot to add: the first time as a tragedy, the second time as a farce."

sources

Doyle, William (1990). Oxford History of the French Revolution(2nd ed.). Oxford; NY: