had to stay in Paris for reasons of his health. The sparring continued,
until at a dinner on 30 October Barras publicly insulted Napoleon by
suggesting that he should return forthwith to command the Army of
Italy. Napoleon decided to stop beating about the bush. On 4 November
he asked Barras bluntly how he would react to a coup to replace the
Directory; Barras said he had no tolerance at all for such an idea. This
meant that Napoleon had no choice but to throw in his lot with Sieyes,
whom he heartily disliked.
Meanwhile Napoleon tried to marginalize the dangerous maverick
Bernadotte. The Gascon went to the rue de la Victoire and told Napoleon
in his typical charmless manner that he was exaggerating the corruption
of the Directory for his own purposes. 'I don't despair of the Republic
and am convinced it will see off both internal and external enemies,'
Bernadotte continued. When he spoke the word 'internal' he glared at
Napoleon; an embarrassed Josephine quickly changed the subject. A few
days later Napoleon tried again when he and Josephine visited Bernadotte
in the rue Cisalpine. After dinner the two families drove to Joseph's
country house at Montefontaine, where there was another- violent
altercation in the park between Napoleon and Bernadotte.
Detailed planning for the coup now went on. There were innumerable
meetings with Sieyes and Roger Ducos in the rue de la Victoire. Fouche,
also a party to the plot, made sure the police did not disturb them. Only
Napoleon, Sieyes, Talleyrand, Fouche and Ducos knew the full details of
the plot; others were informed on a 'need to know' basis. Sieyes, Fouche
and Talleyrand, all ex-clerics, agreed with Napoleon that Bernadotte
should be excluded as unreliable, a J acobin and an opportunistic
egomaniac, but made strenuous eleventh-hour efforts to bring Barras into
their camp. A key day in the preparation of the coup was 6 November.
Sieyes and Napoleon finally composed their severe differences and agreed
that after the coup a commission would draw up a new constitution.
There would be a parliamentary strike against the Directory backed by a
show of force. Meanwhile, Joseph, Talleyrand and Fouche spent the
sixth vainly trying to win over Barras. That evening a disappointing day
ended in virtual farce with the subscription dinner held at the Temple of
Victory (formerly the Church of St Sulpice). Napoleon and Moreau were
the guests of honour, but Bonaparte attended with great reluctance and
brought his own food - some bread, a pear and a bottle of wine - making
it clear he trusted nobody; the Jacobin generals, Bernadotte, Jourdan and
Augereau completed the farce by refusing to attend.
The coup was originally planned for 7 November, but at the last
moment some of the key conspirators lost their nerve. Napoleon gave
marcin
(Marcin)
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