How Did the Failure of the Directory Lead to

Napoleon's Rise to Power

In: Historical Events
How Did the Failure of the Directory Lead to Napoleon's Rise to Power

To what extent was Napoleon’s rise to power aided by the failings of the Directory?!

! Introduction! !

Crook comments that Napoleon’s rise to power had “acquired an aura of inevitability”1, and such inevitability
was aided by the fall of the French monarchy, the failings of the Directory, and more importantly, Napoleon’s
personal ability and appeal to employ such opportunity. This essay will argue that his rise to power was indeed
very much aided by the failings of the Directory, but it was Napoleon who recognized such failures and used
these to his advantage that ensured his rise. It will begin with a short background of the origins and result of
the French Revolution. It will then summarize the failings of the Directory and how Napoleon used such
failings to rise to power. !

! The French Revolution! !

To evaluate the Directory’s impact on Napoleon’s rise to power it is essential to examine France in the late
18th century, a time of uprisings and turmoils. There was a general public discontent in the French monarch,
Louis XVI, due to his inability to find a solution of the impoverished France. France was in such a state
because it spent a large sum on warfare, namely the funding of the American War of Independence. This
Pyrrhic victory almost bankrupted France. While the King taxed the poor, the royal family and the nobles still
lived in luxurious lifestyles. After a series of events, the King was overthrown. !

! Napoleon Under the Directory! !

After the overthrown, the 1795 Constitution was passed by voting. It also established the Directoire, the
Directory, with five directors, and one was to be replaced each year. The Parliament was formed of two bodies,
the Council of Five Hundred and the Council of the Elders. The Directory regime lasted for four years, from
1795 to 1799. Louis XVI’s brother attempted to bring the monarchy system back to France and in the elections
in 1797 a royalist majority returned. Such fear of the return of the monarch led the Republicans resort to armed
conflicts in September 1797 where royalists were arrested and deported. Although this ensured the survival of
the Republic, Lyon argued that the Directory paid a huge price for it as “the Constitution of the Year 3 had
been violated, the electoral process devalued, and the regime was now indebted to the army”.2!
!

From 1796-1797, Napoleon was promoted to a general and led an Italian Campaign as a commander of the
French Army of Italy under the Directory’s command, mostly attracted by the valuable pieces of artworks in
Italian churches that could assist the French’s regime. Napoleon proclaimed to his soldiers that “you are naked
and hungry. The government owes you much, but can give you nothing. I am about to lead you into the
world’s most fertile plains… and you will find honour, glory, and riches.” Indeed, after the success invasion
Napoleon was able to provide what he had claimed to his soldiers — paid his soldiers in cash instead of
devalued paper currency. Through this campaign, he was able to gain the respect of his troops by uplifting the
spirits and fulfil what he had promised. Ellis argued that it was through the Italian Campaign where Napoleon
transformed from “an unknown military quantity…[to] international fame.”3 In France, he was “boosted no
doubt by his transfer to France of sundry spoils of war” that aided France’s financial situation.4 !

12

Malcolm Crook, Revolutionary France, 2002 Oxford University Press, 28

Martyn Lyon, Napoleon Bonaparte and the Legacy of the French Revolution, 1994 Palgrave Publishers,16

34

Geoffrey Ellis, Profiles in Power: Napoleon, 1997 Pearson Education Limited, 29 ibid
Alike the Italian Campaign, Napoleon was also involved in the Egyptian Campagin in 1798 under the
command of the Directory. The Directory wanted to weaken the British empire by invading one of its colonies,
Egypt, and disrupt Britain’s trade power. This campaign only furthered Napoleon’s personal appeal to the
French public. Again, he made an inspiring proclamation to his troops that they were about to “strike the most
direct and painful blow possible against England”, which even sparked a sense of patriotism among the French
soldiers as England had always been seen as one of France’s biggest enemies. As Lyon argued, Napoleon
“pose[d] as a modern Alexander and became a statesman on a grand intercontinental scale.”5! ! Directory’s
Failings !

There was some initial administrative success of the Directory. Financially, the state the Directory inherited
was virtually bankrupt. Its paper currency, the assignats, was experiencing hyperinflation and was practically
worthless. Eventually, the Directory dismissed some of the France’s debt and even reformed its taxation
system by introducing new taxes such as tax on land, commercial patents and luxury products. This eased not
solved the French economy. However, the Directory’s political failings were the pivotal reasons to its
downfall. It was unable to abide the Constitution when faced with opposition from the left and the Right. As
mentioned above when the royalists won majority, the Right, the Directory resorted to armed conflicts.
Similarly, in the year of VI, a majority of Jacobins, the Left, were selected in elections. The Directory, again,
violated the Constitution by invalidating these elections. After various accounts of violations of the
Constitution, the French people lost faith in the Directory politically and its downfall was never even met with
opposition as it “has never been a popular regime in either an electoral and a sentimental sense.”6 !

Another political failure of the Directory was its inability to provide stableness for France. One of its
fundamental flaws was the weak inherent structure of the executive authority, namely the five directors. The
replacement of the directors was left to fate as the method used was straw picking. Therefore, the stability of
the French government was “at the mercy of fortune and intrigue.”7 Moreover, the Directory failed to find a
solution to the continuous order problems. For example, the White Terror murder gangs massacred over 1000
Jacobins, and their bodies were thrown into the Rhone river. There was fear in the French society due to such
unstableness and people witnessing corpses flowing down the river. The famine hit France in 1795 and started
a peasant rebellion. In addition, governmental positions were even seen as dangerous because citizens were
very likely to attack those who collected tax. The Directory, again, failed to come up with a solution to these
unrests. !
 

The Directory also did not have the support of the bourgeoisies. They were trying to secure their wealth from
the Revolution but the Directory did not seem to be a reliable government due to its own violations of the
Constitution and the general unstableness of the society. Their wealth seemed to be unsafe under the
Directory’s government, especially with the violent activities. The Directory was faced with threats from
different political groups and terrorism of gangs. This became even more concerning after the defeat in
Germany and Italy, which resulted allied armies closer to the French border and threatened their wealth.
Therefore, the Directory was not popular among French citizens due to its failure to grant stability in the
French society. !

! Napoleon’s Rise to Power! !

567

The turning point of Napoleon’s career was when he was still in Egypt, where he constantly sought news and
information of France. After hearing the French defeat in the War of the Second Coalition he immediately
came back to France without the order of the Directory. His act of keeping (n 2) 24 (n 3) 42 (n 2) 32
informative of France’s situation while he was in Egypt shows that he as an opportunist who saw the
possibility of change while in Egypt. If he were complete ignorant and focused on the Egyptian expedition as
commanded by the Directory, he would not have successfully come to power. ! Although his return to France
there was a change in the situation as France won a few victories in the War, the public discontent of the
Directory still existed. The situation exacerbated due the financial state of the government since it was
bankrupted during the War. Here, along with one of the Directors, Sieyes, Napoleon was able to overthrown
the Directory. His action proved that he was a decisive individual who was willing to initiate a change and
seize the opportunity when he could. He was also able to eliminate Sieyes as an opponent because he acted
quickly by introducing a new constitution and thereby, secured himself the position as the First Consul. !

The new Constitution itself was unlike all the other French constitutions because it did not start with a Rights
of Man preface. It also effectively gave Napoleon all the power by vesting all power to the First Consul,
himself. One contemporary even mentioned that the new constitution is Bonaparte.8 The referendum held for
the election was vital to Napoleon’s political career because it “revealed a cynical attitude towards the will of
the people and their apathy towards the new regime.”9 The Directory’s failures had contributed to his rise to
power since without it, he would not be able to gain the support of the discontent population. Although the
amount of support may be questions since he also had help from his brother Lucien who helped Napoleon
doubled the figure of voters to increase his popularity. This manipulative act was even continued after
Napoleon came to power. !

  

! Conclusion! !

The Directory’s main weakness was its inability to provide peace for the French people immediately after the
French Revolution. It was set out to be a constitutional government and violated its own principles when faced
with oppositions from different political groups. Its failings also included not being able to initiate changes
dramatic enough that could guarantee peace and support from the French citizens. Napoleon, on the other
hand, was able to seek this opportunity to use to his advantage by leading a coup and creating a new
constitution. He was able to use his fame that he gained from the previous Italian campaigns and Egyptian
expeditions to help him gain support with the help from his brother. Therefore, the Directory’s failings most
definitely aided Napoleon’s rise to power, but it was Napoleon himself who recognized such failings to use to
his advantage. !

!!

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