The Coup of 30 Prairial Year VII (''Coup d'État du 30 prairial an VII''), also known as the Revenge of the Councils (''revanche des conseils'') was a
bloodless coup
A nonviolent revolution is a revolution conducted primarily by unarmed civilians using tactics of civil resistance, including various forms of nonviolent protest, to bring about the departure of governments seen as entrenched and authoritarian ...
in France that occurred on 18 June 1799—30 Prairial Year VII by the
French Republican Calendar. It left
Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès as the dominant figure of the French government, and prefigured the coup of
18 Brumaire
The Coup d'état of 18 Brumaire brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and led to the Coronation of Napoleon as Emperor. This bloodless ''coup d'état'' overt ...
that brought
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
to power.
Prelude
The March-April 1799 elections of 315 new deputies into the two councils had produced a new ''Neo-Jacobin'' majority in these two bodies, particularly in the lower house. The
Council of Five Hundred
The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the e ...
— the
lower house
A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
in the legislature under the
French Directory
The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and r ...
— became unhappy with the directors' conduct of the
War of the Second Coalition
The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war on revolutionary France by most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, N ...
, and in particular with their recall of General
Jean Étienne Championnet
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* Jea ...
, a former
Jacobin
, logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg
, logo_size = 180px
, logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794)
, motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir)
, successor = Pa ...
.
The
Council of Ancients
The Council of Ancients or Council of Elders (french: Conseil des Anciens) was the upper house of the French legislature under the Constitution of the Year III, during the period commonly known as the Directory (French: ''Directoire''), from 2 ...
and
Council of Five Hundred
The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the e ...
—the two legislative branches under the
French Directory
The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and r ...
—voted an act declaring that the election of Director
Jean-Baptiste Treilhard
Jean-Baptiste Treilhard (; 3 January 1742 – 1 December 1810) was an important French statesman of the revolutionary period. He passed through the troubled times of the Republic and Empire with great political savvy, playing a decisive role at ...
had been illegal, and on 29 Prairial/17 June had replaced him with
Louis Gohier Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis ...
, erstwhile Jacobin deputy and minister during the
French Convention
The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year National ...
.
Coup
But the Councils were not satisfied with one removal. The new anti-Jacobin Director
Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès shared, in some degree, the Councils' sentiments and, by holding this view, it likely helped him into his new appointment to office in May 1799. He was glad to see his colleagues removed, and was perfectly willing to work with Jacobin generals to achieve his ends. In the Council of Five Hundred, the deputy
Antoine, comte Boulay de la Meurthe
Antoine Jacques Claude Joseph, comte Boulay de la Meurthe (; 19 February 17614 February 1840), was a French politician and magistrate.
Biography
Boulay was the son of an agricultural labourer, born at Chamousey ( Vosges).
He became orphaned at an ...
, generally seen as a moderate, demanded the resignation or removal of directors
Louis-Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux Louis-Marie may refer to:
* Louis Marie Baptiste Atthalin (1784–1856), French Army officer, politician, painter, watercolorist, and lithographer
* Louis-Marie-Augustin d'Aumont, 4th Duke of Aumont of the Aumont family, a French noble house
* Loui ...
and
Philippe Antoine Merlin de Douai
Philippe-Antoine Merlin, known as Merlin de Douai (, 30 October 1754 – 26 December 1838) was a French politician and lawyer.
Personal and public life
Early years
Merlin de Douai was born at Arleux, Nord, and was called to the Flemish bar a ...
. In this he was soon joined not only by his own Council but by the Council of Ancients, and by directors
Paul Barras
Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras (, 30 June 1755 – 29 January 1829), commonly known as Paul Barras, was a French politician of the French Revolution, and the main executive leader of the Directory regime of 1795–1799.
Early ...
, a Directory veteran since 1795 who was popularly known for his cunning, a trait which likely ensured that he was not to be yet another director who should have been removed, and by the newly appointed Sieyès.
When Révellière de Lépeaux and Merlin de Douai resisted, General
Barthélémy Catherine Joubert, recently placed in command of the 17th military division (Paris) organized some troop movements of soldiers in Paris. By the evening of 18 June, Révellière-Lépeaux and Merlin had both tendered their resignations.
Although nothing in this sequence of events formally violated the
French Constitution of 1795
The Constitution of the Year III (french: Constitution de l’an III) was the constitution of the French First Republic that established the Executive Directory. Adopted by the convention on 5 Fructidor Year III (22 August 1795) and approved ...
, it is generally considered a coup.
References
{{French Revolution
30 Prairial Year VII, Coup of
1799 in France
18th-century coups d'état and coup attempts
Military coups in France
French Directory