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Claude François de Malet (28 June 1754 – 31 October 1812) was born in Dole to an aristocratic family. He was executed by firing squad, six days after staging a failed republican coup d'état as
Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
returned from the disastrous Russian campaign in 1812.


Before and during the French Revolution

Malet enlisted as a
Musketeer A musketeer ( ) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare, particularly in Europe, as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a precursor to the rifl ...
at age seventeen as was common for a young nobleman of the
ancien régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...
, but King Louis XVI disbanded the musketeer regiments in 1776 for budgetary reasons. In 1790 Malet's family disinherited him for supporting the French Revolution, when he became commander of his home town's
National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...
and celebrated the anniversary of the
storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille ( ), which occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, was an act of political violence by revolutionary insurgents who attempted to storm and seize control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison k ...
. Malet volunteered for the Revolutionary army when
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
broke out and was assigned to the 50th infantry regiment of the Army of the Rhine as a captain.Encyclopædia Britannic
"Claude Francois de Malet"
Retrieved on 2009-06-04
He was discharged in 1795, but reenlisted again in March 1797, first as Chief of Staff of the 6th division, then in 1799 as Chief of Staff of the Army of the Alps under the command 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 ...
. After receiving honourable citations from both Championnet and general
André Masséna André Masséna, prince d'Essling, duc de Rivoli (; born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817), was a French military commander of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original eighteen Marshal of the ...
for defending the Little St. Bernard Pass in August 1799, Malet was promoted to Brigadier General on October 19, 1799. He fought in the
Helvetian Republic The Helvetic Republic (; ; ) was a sister republic of French First Republic, France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion of Switzerland, French invasion and the c ...
throughout 1801, until the fighting ended with the
Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition () (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war targeting revolutionary France by many European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria, and Russia and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, ...
in 1802 by the treaties of Lunéville and
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.


After the Directory

After the coups of the 30 Prairial and
18 Brumaire The Coup of 18 Brumaire () brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of the French First Republic. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and would soon lead to the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the ...
of year VIII that replaced the
French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate; ) was the system of government established by the Constitution of the Year III, French Constitution of 1795. It takes its name from the committee of 5 men vested with executive power. The Directory gov ...
with the
French Consulate The Consulate () was the top-level government of the First French Republic from the fall of the French Directory, Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799 until the start of the First French Empire, French Empire on 18 May 1804. ...
, Malet voted against the referendum confirming
Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
as
First Consul The Consulate () was the top-level government of the First French Republic from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799 until the start of the French Empire on 18 May 1804. During this period, Napoleon Bonap ...
. Malet was relegated to
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, then to
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, as his opposition to Bonaparte became even more vehement, although he became Commander of the
Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
during these years. In 1805 he was discharged from active duty; Malet then resigned after Napoleon seized total power and coronation as Emperor. He was appointed Governor of Pavia in the
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.
Eugène de Beauharnais Eugène Rose de Beauharnais (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French statesman and military officer who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Through the second marriage of his mother, Joséphine de Beauharnais, ...
expelled him on allegations of black market activities and propaganda, and he was interned in the
La Force Prison La Force Prison was a French prison located in the Rue du Roi de Sicile, in what is now the 4th arrondissement of Paris. Originally known as the Hôtel de la Force, the buildings formed the private residence of Henri-Jacques Nompar de Caumont, d ...
from July 1, 1807, to May 30, 1808. Released without trial, he was jailed again the next year on suspicion of belonging to the Philadelphes, a republican and anti-Bonapartist
Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
society. He remained under house arrest in Paris from July 1810, until his escape on October 23, 1812.


Coup d'état of 1812

During his detention Malet conceived of and planned
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's overthrow in a daring coup d'état. The plan was simple: on October 23, 1812, during the Emperor's absence on the Russian front, Malet planned to announce the death of Napoleon and to establish a provisional government. Malet decided to proclaim his death via the use of forged documentation, hoping the plausible declaration would be believable. Malet's proposed provisional government would be composed of
Mathieu de Montmorency Mathieu Jean Felicité de Montmorency, 1st Duke of Montmorency-Laval (10 July 1767 – 24 March 1826) was a French statesman during the French Revolution and Bourbon Restoration. He was elected as the youngest deputy to the Estates-General of ...
, Alexis de Noailles,
General Moreau Jean Victor Marie Moreau (, 14 February 1763 – 2 September 1813) was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte rise to power, but later became his chief military and political rival and was banished to the United States. He is among the f ...
as vice president,
Lazare Carnot Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Comte Carnot (; 13 May 1753 – 2 August 1823) was a French mathematician, physicist, military officer, politician and a leading member of the Committee of Public Safety during the French Revolution. His military refor ...
as president, Marshal
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, ex-legislator Bigonnet, Count Frochot, Prefect of the Seine, ex-legislator Florent Guiot, Destutt de Tracy, Malet himself, Vice-Admiral Truguet, Senator Volney, and Senator Garrat. The forces involved in the coup were the
Gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
forces of Paris (which were dissolved thereafter and formed the 134th Line Infantry Regiment) and the 10th Cohort of the
French National Guard The National Guard () is a French military, gendarmerie, and police reserve force, active in its current form since 2016 but originally founded in 1789 during the French Revolution. It was founded as separate from the French Army and exi ...
. Malet prepared complex instructions and forged documents for his accomplices. This preliminary work was immense, since it was necessary to give each accomplice an important role, specific instructions, and forged copies of the ''
senatus consultum A (Latin: decree of the senate, plural: ) is a text emanating from the senate in Ancient Rome. It is used in the modern phrase '' senatus consultum ultimum''. Translated into French as , the term was also used during the French Consulate, the ...
'' and the proclamations. As soon as a set of instructions was completely prepared, the dispatch was closed, sealed, numbered and entrusted to the custody of a Spanish priest who lived in Saint-Gilles street, close to the barracks of the 10th National Guard Cohort. On the night of the October 23, Malet escaped his captivity. Dressed in a general's uniform, he presented himself at the
La Force prison La Force Prison was a French prison located in the Rue du Roi de Sicile, in what is now the 4th arrondissement of Paris. Originally known as the Hôtel de la Force, the buildings formed the private residence of Henri-Jacques Nompar de Caumont, d ...
and, using forged orders, obtained the release of Generals Victor Lahorie and Emmanuel Maximilien-Joseph Guidal, to whom he announced Napoleon's demise on October 7 at the Russian front near Moscow. He then convinced Lahorie and Guidal that immediate action was necessary and showed the forged documents leading them to believe the Senate had already reacted to the death of the Emperor. In the pre-dawn hours of October 23 Malet and his accomplices went to the barracks of the
Gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...
. Malet awoke commanders and soldiers announced the Emperor's death and presented his forged documents as evidence. According to the "orders" in the forged documents, Malet had the troops take up their weapons and dispatched detachments of the 10th Cohort in columns to various locations to make arrests. A detachment of the 10th Cohort, led by Lahorie, went to the residence of the Duke of Rovigo, Minister of the Police. The Duke was taken by surprise and conveyed to La Force prison, while another detachment arrested the prefect of the police force. A third column went to the town hall of Paris and, while the troops took positions in place de Grève, the commanders took the key of the Midsummer's Day alarm bell, called the prefect Frochot and prepared the room for a provisional government. The death of the Emperor was believed throughout Paris, and Malet settled into the offices of the district general of the
Place Vendôme The Place Vendôme (), earlier known as the Place Louis-le-Grand, and also as the Place Internationale, is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madelein ...
, which offered the facilities necessary to play his part of commander. When General
Pierre-Augustin Hulin Pierre-Augustin Hulin (; 6 September 1758 – 9 January 1841) was a French general under Napoleon Bonaparte who took part in the storming of the Bastille, the trial of the Duke d'Enghien, and the foiling of the Malet coup. Early life P ...
, commander of the Paris Garrison, requested verification of the senatorial documents, Malet shot and injured him. Finally, Malet's actions were ended when a senior military police officer, Colonel Jean Doucet, recognized that the new general of the Senate in fact was the prisoner Malet. Doucet disarmed Malet, returned him to prison, and ordered the 10th Cohort back to its barracks.


Consequences of the Malet Conspiracy

Malet's plan was skillfully conceived. It focused on the weakness of Napoleon's imperial dictatorship government, and calculated the consequences of the French passive obedience. Although unsuccessful, Malet's attempted coup d'état can be seen as revealing a fatal weakness of the new dynasty. This coup d'état caused the anger of Napoleon I because it exposed the weakness of French allegiance to the Bonaparte family as a dynasty: nobody had had the idea to shout, "Napoleon died! Long Live
Napoleon II Napoleon II (Napoléon François Joseph Charles Bonaparte; 20 March 181122 July 1832) was the disputed Emperor of the French for a few weeks in 1815. He was the son of Emperor Napoleon I and Empress Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma, Marie Louise, d ...
!" On the other hand, the coup attempt was in fact thwarted. A total of 23 civilians and officers, including Malet, Guidal and Lahorie, were tried on October 29, 1812, before a council of war for treason and all were convicted. All but 2 were executed on the plain of
Grenelle Grenelle () is a neighbourhood in southwestern Paris, France. It is a part of the 15th arrondissement of the city. There is currently a Boulevard de Grenelle which runs along the North delimitation of the ''quartier'', and a Rue de Grenelle, ...
on October 31. The conspiracy also led to strained relations between the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Police.


References


External links

*Allégret, Marc
Malet, Claude-Francois de (1754–1812), General, Initiateur de la conspiration contre Napoleon (1812)
Napoleon.org. 2004. Retrieved June 15, 2009.

Dominique Contant & Robert Ouvrard.

Nicolas Juncker. Comic strip based on Malet's coup d'état. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malet, Claude Francois De 1754 births 1812 deaths People from Dole, Jura French generals French military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars French escapees Escapees from French detention Commanders of the Legion of Honour Executed French people People executed by the French military by firing squad