Louis Fauche-Borel (12 April 1762 – 4 September 1829) was a French counter-revolutionary and member of the Royalist movement during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

and

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental E ...

. He was born and died in Neuchâtel.

French Revolution

Printer to the king of Prussia - the

Principality of Neuchâtel A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...

was at that point

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

- a Freemason and a

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

, Fauche-Borel welcomed the

. However, the influx of French émigrés radically altered his opinions and he became affiliated with the

counter-revolution A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...

. In 1795, Montgaillard made him responsible for making contact with

Jean-Charles Pichegru Jean-Charles Pichegru (, 16 February 1761 – 5 April 1804) was a French general of the Revolutionary Wars. Under his command, French troops overran Belgium and the Netherlands before fighting on the Rhine front. His royalist positions led to hi ...

and

Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé Louis Joseph de Bourbon (9 August 1736 – 13 May 1818) was Prince of Condé from 1740 to his death. A member of the House of Bourbon, he held the prestigious rank of '' Prince du Sang''. Youth Born on 9 August 1736 at Chantilly, Louis J ...

. He succeeded in this mission, was arrested but released, and returned to Switzerland. He made contact with Pichegru in June 1796 at Arbois, and then in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in August. The Coup of 18 Fructidor (4 September 1797) put an end to the conspiracy. He tried to get in touch with

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 ...

to rally him to the Bourbon cause. In London, he regained contact with Pichegru, who had escaped from

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...

. He worked for the ''agence royaliste'' of

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

, or Swabia. Assisted by the marquis of Maisonfort, he tried again to bring Barras into the royalist camp. He met with

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

in Mitau. 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'' ...

(9 November 1799) put an end to his efforts.

Consulate and First Empire

In 1801, he sought to reconcile Moreau and Pichegru to have them embrace the royalist cause. Denounced and arrested at Paris in July 1802, he escaped on January 1st 804, but was recaptured nine days later. He was released in February 1806, after having promised to work for the French government. He wrote some insignificant reports, but secretly printed the proclamations of Louis XVIII to send to Paris. Joseph Fouché ordered his arrest. He fled to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. A machination by Fouché led him to believe that a royalist committee was bringing together high-ranking personages in Paris. This brought him into conflict with

Joseph-Geneviève de Puisaye Joseph-Geneviève, comte de Puisaye (6 March 1755 – 13 September 1827) was a minor French nobleman who fought as a counter-revolutionary during the French Revolution, leading two unsuccessful invasions from England. He later led a group of Fren ...

, who did not believe in the existence of this committee. He was exiled to

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

, where he remained until the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

Restoration

Following the accession of

, it was discovered that he had been manipulated by the Imperial police. Following a suit demonstrating his innocence, he received compensation for services rendered. But, suffering from

neurasthenia Neurasthenia (from the Ancient Greek νεῦρον ''neuron'' "nerve" and ἀσθενής ''asthenés'' "weak") is a term that was first used at least as early as 1829 for a mechanical weakness of the nerves and became a major diagnosis in North A ...

, he committed suicide by defenestration in his home at Neuchâtel. He left behind his ''Mémoires'', published at Paris in 1829. 1762 births 1829 deaths French counter-revolutionaries People from Neuchâtel {{France-activist-stub