What process and path led the son of the Revolution and missionary of its ideas, the general who became First Consul of the Republic, to climb the last rung of total absolutist power and sit on the imperial throne?
Paris, December 2, 1804, 9 a.m. Five hundred thousand French people gathered to accompany the coronation, an exceptional event taking place at Notre Dame Cathedral. After years of upheaval, marked in particular by Terror and regicide, France is preparing today to link its destiny to the new providential man.
Bonaparte, however, was always wary of a coronation. As a great connoisseur of ancient history (and of Plutarch in particular), he knows what the punishment inflicted by certain patricians on Caesar for wanting to rise as sovereign and betray the Republic. His existence proved to him the instability of the regimes established since the fall of the monarchy and his relationship with one of the Robespierre brothers also caused him to be arrested on August 9, 1794. But above all, it was The ordeal of Brumaire's coup d'état (November 9-10, 1799) which occupied his mind.
A “saber” to complete the Revolution
He remembers the hostility of the deputies when he entered the Orangerie room of the Château de Saint-Cloud to hasten the conclusion of the affair. The cries still echo in his head: “Death to the tyrant!” Down with the dictator! Long live the Republic and the Constitution of Year III! » The episode came close to turning into a disaster. On the night of 18th to 19th Brumaire, he went to bed with a pistol under his pillow. The skillful intervention of his brother Lucien, followed by the action of the troop, transformed an uncertain situation into a success. But even victorious, he confided to Talleyrand: “It is such a great misfortune for a nation of thirty million inhabitants and in the 18th century to have recourse to bayonets to save the homeland. » His mere presence, which he considered essential before the Council of Five Hundred, was not enough to intimidate the deputies. Intoxicated by his successes in Italy and Egypt, he believed he would easily make himself master of France. And it was as a member of the Institute, as an intellectual and not as a soldier, that he wanted to succeed.
Even if an appearance of legality covers the birth of the Consulate, Brumaire remains a “military coup” that he is obliged to admit. His objective was to obtain the consent of elected officials chosen by the people to become their legal representative: “It is not as a general that I govern, but because the nation believes that I have the proper civil qualities in government.” His wish failed. Bonaparte, a brilliant strategist, therefore learned from his past errors and appropriated them to achieve his goals. He understood that to exercise his power, he had several levers that he could use alternately or together to strengthen his position and his legitimacy. To do this, Bonaparte needed peace above all. The inner peace that he will obtain through the restoration of order and the end of the chaos generated by the Revolution; external peace by putting an end to the conflicts that have pitted France against European monarchies for almost a decade. Then legitimacy will be his and Bonaparte will be able to pose as a providential man, representative of the popular will.
The “masses of granite”
His first step was to rebuild a France deeply weakened by the crimes of the Terror and the corruption of the Directory. He wants to lay the “granite masses” to transform it into a modern and sustainable state, in which citizens can place their trust. Like Augustus finding "a Rome of bricks only to leave it in marble", he judges this situation equal to his own and presents an objective in every way similar to that of the Princeps: "We have destroyed everything, it is a question of recreating. There is a government, there are powers, but what is it? Grains of sand. » He clearly defines his intention to rebuild the Nation from top to bottom, although he is aware that the State is nothing if it is only an appearance: “Do you believe that the Republic is definitively acquired? You would be very wrong. We are masters of doing it, but we will not have done it and we will not have it if we do not throw a few masses of granite on the ground. » Furthermore, a strong state relies on solid structures.
The First Consul presents himself as the successor of the Republic through his support of the law of 28 Pluviôse Year VIII (February 17, 1800). The departments inherited from the revolutionary era are thus preserved, but Bonaparte divides them into municipal districts at the head of which are placed civil servants, and in particular a prefect at the top. Everyone is chosen by their initiative, and they must in no case have freedom of action. They are the eyes, ears, and mouth of the head of state. An effective way for him to administratively centralize power while retaining the gains of the Revolution.
Also, to unite and ensure the loyalty of the social body hitherto divided in fratricidal quarrels, Bonaparte had the idea of carving out society under the aegis of laws and institutions over which he retained control. A synthesis of the rights of the Ancien Régime and the Revolution, the Civil Code, implemented on March 21, 1804, is the triumph of this will which still marks contemporary societies today. Its primary modernity is based on the recognition of the principles of 1789: individual freedom, definition of the family and egalitarian sharing of inheritance between children, inviolability of individual property... But above all, the abolition of feudalism and secularism are the aspects of this new code. Return of freedom of worship thanks to the Concordat of April 1802, the constitution of the Legion of Honor, and high schools in May of the same year: all these measures aim to respect the recent heritage and ensure the loyalty of the people.
Résoudre la crise financière
Il sait que c'est par une bonne situation financière que s’obtient la confiance populaire et la solidité d’un État. La crise ayant précipité la chute de l'Ancien Régime, le Premier consul est attendu sur cette question et un échec peut lui être fatal. Le défi est de taille car il a pour tâche principale de remplir les caisses et de donner un nouvel élan au milieu des affaires. Il s’entoure de spécialistes, crée une Caisse de garantie dont la fonction première est de veiller à l’amortissement de la dette publique, donne à la France une monnaie efficace avec le franc germinal, empêche la pénurie monétaire et le trafic de papiers monnaies par les faussaires. Dans l’attente de la rentrée d’impôts, il assure les dépenses de l’État avec les avances fournies par la Banque de France, cette situation étant renforcée par la mesure du 27 mars 1803 qui lui confère le monopole d’émission des billets. Ainsi, par ces réformes, l’économie prend un nouvel élan et le chômage recule. « Bien conseillé, Bonaparte avait réussi là où ses prédécesseurs avaient échoué » note Thierry Lentz. En un temps record, il est parvenu à réconcilier la Nation tout en dotant la France de structures modernes et en lui garantissant une nouvelle prospérité.
Le « pacificateur » du monde
Reste son prestige extérieur, qu’il doit entretenir par une nouvelle victoire. Sa renommée étant essentiellement fondée sur son génie militaire, il lui faut un nouveau succès. Désormais aux commandes, ce n’est pas seulement une campagne qu’il joue, mais son avenir tout entier en tant que chef d’État et des armées. « Une victoire me laissera maître d’exécuter ce que je voudrai » écrit-il à Joseph. Malgré le traité de Campoformio (18 octobre 1797), l’Autriche, soutenue par l’Angleterre de Pitt, maintient sa lutte contre la France. Sa domination s’étend sur la majeure partie nord de la péninsule italienne et sur le royaume de Naples. Vienne ayant repoussé les offres de paix tout en souhaitant reprendre la main sur les territoires français de la rive gauche du Rhin, cette situation joue en faveur de la popularité et de l’image du Premier consul dont la générosité est refusée par l’adversaire. Talleyrand résume ces négociations : «[Elles] eurent une influence heureuse sur la paix intérieure, parce qu’elles annonçaient des dispositions qui devaient être agréables au peuple, en lui révélant un homme d’État habile dans le grand général devenu chef du gouvernement. » Par conséquent, pour jouer son rôle, Bonaparte se doit de prendre lui-même le commandement des trois armées lors de cette seconde campagne d’Italie, menaçant l'adversaire sur deux fronts : d’un côté le Rhin où les opérations seront conduites par Moreau ; puis l’Italie, théâtre qu’il connaît et qu’il atteindra comme Hannibal par le franchissement des Alpes. Même si Moreau refuse de se plier aux ordres et sera vainqueur à Hohenlinden le 3 décembre 1800, Bonaparte minimise le succès de son rival par son triomphe à Marengo le 14 juin précédent. Bien que passé près du désastre, le Premier consul fait de cette bataille une victoire de propagande largement magnifiée auprès du grand public.
Imposing peace with Austria at Lunéville in February and then with Russia in October 1801, he thus legitimized through his prestige his position and his notoriety as the savior of the homeland. Isolated, England had to sign peace to his tour in Amiens on March 25, 1802. Enthusiasm reigns everywhere in France. The popularity of Bonaparte, the “august peacemaker of the world,” was at its height. In addition to having relieved France of revolutionary chaos, he brought it the glory of a profitable peace which placed it at the rank of arbiter and leading European power. In his Memoirs, Talleyrand reports that with the “[…] peace of Amiens, France enjoyed outside power, glory, influence such that the most ambitious mind could desire nothing beyond his homeland. » But Bonaparte thinks big, and nothing now seems to slow him down in his march towards absolute power.
The end of the royalists
“He had more powers than Louis XVI in 1791, but less than the same in 1789” notes Jean Tulard, who adds that “[…] in 1802, Bonaparte's authority was less assured than it seemed in despite its undeniable popularity. The Consulate begins the Empire. However, this dictatorship of public safety is not unanimous. The Jacobins, fervent defenders of the achievements of the Revolution, compared Bonaparte to Monck, this man who, after the death of Cromwell in 1658, changed course by facilitating the rise to power of King Charles II. All is lost if Bonaparte reproduces this turnaround by allying himself with Louis XVIII. Faced with the injunctions of Louis XVI's brother, the First Consul took a position: he would have to “walk over a hundred thousand corpses” if he planned to return to France. Any form of monarchical restoration in favor of the Bourbons is therefore excluded. But for its benefit, is this possible?
The question is asked: how to be both heir of the Revolution and absolute sovereign? The idea seems paradoxical. However, the answer is simple: we must favor one party to the detriment of the other, therefore attracting the sympathy of the republicans by hitting the monarchists in the heart. Although he is not responsible, events are triggered and Bonaparte, once again, appropriates them and adapts them in his favor. The opportunity was given to him in October 1803. England having resumed the war, the arrest of Chouans in Paris led to the revelation that Georges Cadoudal, a convinced royalist and ally of the British, was present in the capital to assassinate the First Consul. The police obtain two names: the first is Pichegru, a general and royalist agent, and the second is Moreau. Stupor! Pichegru and Cadoudal were to remove Bonaparte on the road to Malmaison, and a prince from the House of Bourbons would replace him. The popularity of the winner of Hohenlinden was a major asset in obtaining the support of the army. Also, Bonaparte, who knows the fame of his rival only too well, fears that a sentence that is too harsh during the trial that will open will turn this fame against him. Moreau was arrested, and the crowd saw a political maneuver and immediately gathered to show their support for the detainee. For the First Consul, this affront by Parisians is intolerable and his response in La Gazette de France is all the more firm. Threatening a transfer of the government to Lyon, he described the people as "ungrateful, fickle, frivolous [who] far from appreciating [the] services and blessing the hand which had healed their wounds, sought to ridicule them". The last figures in the conspiracy are apprehended. It remains to find the identity of the prince who was to find Moreau. Bad information then focuses attention on Louis de Bourbon Condé, Duke of Enghien. His arrest and then his death left the field open to Bonaparte.
The last step: is the support of the people
With the death of Prince de Condé, Bonaparte now has all the cards in hand to present himself as the new monarch. However, one last obstacle stands between him and the throne: heredity. The actions perpetrated by the Chouans prove to him that the entire work of the Consulate rests on his person alone and that it would be enough for him to disappear for all his work to collapse. The fragility of power rests on the existence of the head of state. Without heredity, absolute power cannot be lasting. The Consulate for Life already reveals this intention. Thanks to the Treaty of Amiens and the new impetus given to France, he obtained what he lacked in 1799: popular support with 3,600,000 yes against 8,374 no. The first step has been taken. However, this does not resolve the issue of heredity. Joséphine is sterile. How to cure it? The Consulate is inspired by the Roman Republic, the birth of the first son of Louis Bonaparte and Hortense de Beauharnais coming at just the right time. The First Consul has a successor and the constitution gives him the right of adoption. The way is clear. The fruit is ripe and Bonaparte just has to pick it.
But what regime should we give France: a monarchy? This would be reminiscent of the Bourbons and show great clumsiness. The solution is provided by Curé. On April 30, 1804, this former member of the Convention decreed to the Tribunate that he “[…] sees for the head of national power no title more worthy of that of the Nation than that of Emperor. » The word is dropped. Brought to his attention on May 18, the new imperial constitution brought only advantages to the new sovereign. The first two articles entrust “the government of the Republic [to] Napoleon Bonaparte, current First Consul of the Republic [who becomes] Emperor of the French”. The Empire is not a monarchy. The nuance is all the more beautiful since the head of state obtains this title by the sole will of the Republic, and therefore of the Revolution. What better way to legitimize this decision than to ask for the approval of the first person concerned, namely the French people themselves? This new plebiscite gives the illusion of being the main person responsible for the establishment of the Empire. The 3,500,000 yes votes (compared to 2,500 no votes) comfort the new sovereign because public opinion is with him and has chosen him. This ends the Revolution, preserving its gains and bringing a new order. As for heredity, article 3 of the constitution reestablishes Salic law: “The imperial dignity is hereditary in the direct, natural and legitimate descendants of Napoleon Bonaparte, from male to male, by order of progeny, and to perpetual exclusion of women and their descendants. » And if Hortense and Louis cannot succeed him, Joseph and Louis will be the last resorts.
On May 18 in Saint-Cloud, the very place where he seized power, Bonaparte became Napoleon. His attitude and language change. The curtain falls. A new scene is opening up for France. Then it was Joséphine’s turn to be congratulated by the Senate. Now the Emperor's first valet, Constant described in his Memoirs the excitement that reigned during that day: “Everyone was drunk with joy in the castle, everyone had the impression of having suddenly risen in rank. We kissed each other, we complimented each other, we shared our hopes and our plans for the future..." At less than thirty-five years old, as Stendhal described it in his Charterhouse of Parma, Napoleon became the successor of 'Alexander and Caesar.
A new Charlemagne
The foundations of the new Empire are being put in place with lightning speed. Titles are given to family and relatives, appointed marshals. The imperial label was established on July 13; the Legion of Honor was distributed to the Invalides two days later. A grand ceremony, respecting ancient traditions while integrating the new values of the Revolution and the Consulate, must mark the beginning of the reign. It was Fontanes, then president of the Legislative Body, who proposed in May to use the liturgy: “A strongly constituted monarchy, surrounded by the apparatus of religion and weapons, resists the action of the centuries […]. By taking the title of Emperor, we must awaken all imperial ideas. Thus the scepter, the hand of justice, the coronation, everything must reappear to vividly strike the imagination of the people and call for the consideration of Europe. » For him, Napoleon is the new Charlemagne who, while preserving the heritage of the past, brings modernity to France and the world.
Following in the footsteps of his model, the Emperor went to Aachen on September 7. The place of the coronation changes: the Champ de Mars seems too airy, the Saint-Louis es Invalides cathedral too small... It will be Notre Dame because the pomp lends itself wonderfully. And above all, this choice allows the intervention of the Pope. The Emperor brought him to Paris at the end of November. Although agnostic, superstition remains within him. You might as well multiply the signs for safety’s sake. And despite the protests of the family, Joséphine will be devoted to his side, especially towards brothers and sisters who are too ambitious. Then come the final preparations. Isabey’s drawings and wooden dolls allow guests and participants a dress rehearsal in Diane’s gallery at the Tuileries on November 26. A decree of the previous August 19 fixed the codification of costumes and the main actor of the ceremony must wear one like no other. When the time comes, he will of his accord place the crown on his head, consecrating behind his person the French people who chose him as emperor. He is undoubtedly the new sovereign of France. Only his genius and his fame allow this. He will never forget it: “Conquest made me what I am. Conquest alone can maintain me. »
The Duke of EnghienPrince of blood, member of the Condé family, and faithful husband, he is the “idol of many royalists, who, persevering in a hitherto unhappy cause, attributed all the humiliations and all the setbacks to the defect of character, of courage and skill in Louis XVIII and his brother and thought that this cause needed a better leader. » His guilt as leader of the plot appears indisputable upon reading his correspondence placed in the hands of Fouché's agents. In the eyes of Bonaparte, the duke proved to be an all the more dreamy target given that he had the imprudence to establish himself in Ettenheim. However, this city of the Margrave of Baden turns out to be particularly vulnerable because it is too close to the French border. A council, bringing together Cambacérès and Murat, decides on the kidnapping. Despite international law, Enghien was arrested on March 15. Two days later, he left Strasbourg for Paris under the leadership of Caulaincourt. He appeared before a military commission on the 21st at 12:30 a.m., an unusual time to say the least. Although the Duke acknowledges his guilt against the Republic, the sentence seems to be a foregone conclusion. The prince was shot the same day. Joséphine bursts into tears. Talleyrand claims to disapprove of the execution. Fouché is said to have uttered this famous phrase: “It’s more than a crime, it’s a mistake. » For Bonaparte, Enghien's death was a necessary and justified political sacrifice. The royalists attempted his life, it is legitimate for him to defend himself: “I had the Duke of Enghien arrested and tried because it was necessary for the safety, the interest and the honor of the people French…” he declared in his will in 1821. Bonaparte and revolutionary France were one. To kill the head of state is to destroy the Revolution itself and the French people. Also, as Jean-Paul Bertaud points out, “Through these acts, Napoleon Bonaparte indicated to everyone that the Revolution if it was over, was irreversible, that he embodied it…”
Napoleon, heir to the Caesars?
If Carnot, to oppose the birth of the Empire on May 3, 1804, exclaims that "the Roman Empire did not last longer than the Republic [...] what troubles, what crimes under his reign and, in place of republican virtue, only vices", curiously Napoleon presented a similar opinion in 1809. He described the Rome of the Caesars as a "horrible memory" in which "all the princes who reigned without legitimate laws, without transmission of heredity and for reasons useless to define, all committed crimes and brought so much evil to Rome. However, ancient Rome occupies a prominent place within the Empire. Its influence seems omniscient: on Napoleon himself (wearing the laurel wreath of the imperators on the day of his coronation or representing himself as a Roman Emperor on many supports), in architecture, in the arts... Without forgetting the choice of the eagle as an emblem of prestige, in particular for the Grande Armée which thus succeeded the Roman legions.
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