Editing French Revolution (section)

== French Directory (1795–1799) ==
[[File:Attaque de la Convention nationale, 1790.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|Troops under [[Napoleon]] fire on Royalist insurgents in Paris, [[13 Vendémiaire|5 October 1795]]]]

Jacobin sympathisers viewed the [[French Directory]] as a betrayal of the Revolution, while [[Bonapartism|Bonapartists]] later justified Napoleon's coup by emphasising its corruption.{{Sfn|Lyons|1975|p=2}} The regime also faced internal unrest, a weak economy, and an expensive war, while the Council of 500 could block legislation at will. Since the directors had no power to call new elections, the only way to break a deadlock was rule by decree or use force. As a result, the directory was characterised by "chronic violence, ambivalent forms of justice, and repeated recourse to heavy-handed repression."{{Sfn|Brown|2006|p=1}}

Retention of the {{Lang|fr|Conventionnels}} ensured the [[Thermidorians]] held a majority in the legislature and three of the five directors, but they were increasingly challenged by the right. On 5 October, Convention troops led by Napoleon [[13 Vendémiaire|put down a royalist rising]] in Paris; when the [[1795 French legislative election|first legislative elections]] were held two weeks later, over 100 of the 150 new deputies were royalists of some sort.{{Sfn|Lyons|1975|pp=19–20}} The power of the Parisian {{Lang|fr|sans-culottes}} had been broken by the suppression of the May 1795 revolt; relieved of pressure from below, the Jacobin clubs became supporters of the directory, largely to prevent restoration of the monarchy.{{Sfn|Lyons|1975|pp=27–28}}

Removal of price controls and a collapse in the value of the {{Lang|fr|assignat}} led to inflation and soaring food prices. By April 1796, over 500,000 Parisians were unemployed, resulting in the May insurrection known as the [[Conspiracy of the Equals]]. Led by the revolutionary [[François-Noël Babeuf]], their demands included immediate implementation of the 1793 Constitution, and a more equitable distribution of wealth. Despite support from sections of the military, the revolt was easily crushed, while Babeuf and other leaders were executed.{{Sfn|Lyons|1975|pp=32–33}} Nevertheless, by 1799 the economy had been stabilised, and important reforms made allowing steady expansion of French industry. Many of these remained in place for much of the 19th century.{{Sfn|Lyons|1975|p=175}}

Prior to 1797, three of the five directors were firmly Republican; Barras, [[Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux|Révellière-Lépeaux]] and [[Jean-François Rewbell]], as were around 40% of the legislature. The same percentage were broadly [[Club de Clichy|centrist]] or unaffiliated, along with two directors, [[Étienne-François Letourneur]] and [[Lazare Carnot]]. Although only 20% were committed Royalists, many centrists supported the restoration of the exiled [[Louis XVIII]] in the belief this would bring peace.{{Sfn|McLynn|1997|p=151}} The elections of May 1797 resulted in significant gains for the right, with Royalists [[Jean-Charles Pichegru]] elected president of the Council of 500, and [[François-Marie, marquis de Barthélemy|Barthélemy]] appointed a director.{{Sfn|McLynn|1997|p=150}}

[[File:Bouchot - Le general Bonaparte au Conseil des Cinq-Cents.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|[[Napoléon Bonaparte]] in the Council of 500 during [[18 Brumaire]], 9 November 1799]]

With Royalists apparently on the verge of power, Republicans attempted a pre-emptive [[Coup of 18 Fructidor|coup on 4 September]]. Using troops from Napoleon's Army of Italy under [[Charles-Pierre Augereau|Pierre Augereau]], the Council of 500 was forced to approve the arrest of Barthélemy, Pichegru and Carnot. The elections were annulled, 63 leading Royalists deported to [[French Guiana]], and laws were passed against émigrés, Royalists and ultra-Jacobins. The removal of his conservative opponents opened the way for direct conflict between Barras and those on the left.{{Sfn|McLynn|1997|p=155}}

Fighting continued despite general war weariness, and the [[1798 French legislative election|1798 elections]] resulted in a resurgence in Jacobin strength. Napoleon's [[French invasion of Egypt and Syria|invasion of Egypt]] in July 1798 confirmed European fears of French expansionism, and the [[War of the Second Coalition]] began in November. Without a majority in the legislature, the directors relied on the army to enforce decrees and extract revenue from conquered territories. Generals like Napoleon and [[Barthélemy Catherine Joubert]] became central to the political process, while both the army and directory became notorious for their corruption.{{Sfn|McLynn|1997|p=208}}

It has been suggested the directory collapsed because by 1799, many 'preferred the uncertainties of authoritarian rule to the continuing ambiguities of parliamentary politics'.{{Sfn|Hunt|Lansky|Hanson|1979|p=735–736}} The architect of its end was Sieyès, who when asked what he had done during the Terror allegedly answered "I survived". Nominated to the directory, his first action was to remove Barras, with the help of allies including Talleyrand, and Napoleon's brother [[Lucien Bonaparte|Lucien]], president of the Council of 500.{{Sfn|McLynn|1997|p=211}} On 9 November 1799, the [[coup of 18 Brumaire]] replaced the five directors with the [[French Consulate]], which consisted of three members, Napoleon, Sieyès, and [[Roger Ducos]]. Most historians consider this the end point of the French Revolution.{{Sfn|McLynn|1997|p=219}}