seven Parisian sections declared themselves to be in rebellion. General
Menou, commander of the Paris garrison, made it plain that he
sympathised with the rebels. There were 20,000 National Guardsmen in
the capital who could conceivably be swayed to the royalist side. Having
experienced Red terror and the revolt of the sans-culottes, Paris now faced
White terror and that ultimate paradox: counter-revolution from the
Right against an extreme right-wing government. The distinction was
that the threat was directed against the men of 'new' property by a motley
alliance between ultramontane royalists and dissatisfied sections of the
National Guard.
There is considerable controversy over Napoleon's exact movements
and motives in the forty-eight hours following the Paris rising. Both
Barras and Napoleon in their very different memoirs grossly distort the
record. Some have claimed it is black propaganda to suggest that
Napoleon flirted with the royalists. Napoleon allegedly said to Junot: 'If
only the Parisians [the rebels] would name me their chief, I would see to
it that the Tuileries would be invaded within two hours, and we would
chase those miserable deputies out of there.' Since this story comes from
Laure, duchess of Abrantes, it is safest to disregard it. Yet on St Helena
Napoleon told General Bertrand he was undecided which way to jump,
and was inclining to the royalists' side when Barras sent for him. Barras
stoked up the rumours in his memoirs by claiming that when the trouble
broke out he at once thought of Napoleon and sought him out, but that
he could not be found at his lodgings, his caf e or any of his usual haunts;
the obvious inference was that he had been bargaining with the other
side. Yet another story was that Napoleon was in bed with a blonde called
Suzanne when he was 'missing'. According to Barras, he di scerned
Napoleon's duplicity but outfoxed him by offering him command of the
artillery, provided he accepted within three minutes. Napoleon did so,
whereupon Barras took him to the session of the Committee of Public
Safety in the Tuileries and got an order signed on the spot, readmitting
Napoleon to his full army rank.
The historian can only cut through the thickets of rumour and
innuendo, sidestep Napoleon's inflated claim that he was officially
designated second-in-command under Barras, and concentrate on what
actually happened. Throughout 12 Vendemiaire (4 October), the tocsin
call to arms never ceased to sound. The men of Thermidor were in a
panic and looked to Barras to save them. He began by releasing hundreds
of Jacobins from prison and hiring a number of unemployed officers. He
then sent word to Napoleon who heeded the call, whether immediately or
after a judicious interval is uncertain. Napoleon did a quick head count.
marcin
(Marcin)
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