However the weakness of the directory was the main reason to Napoleon’s rise to power, because although the circumstances suited Napoleon and allowed him to rise in the army, a strong directory would have restricted how political he could have become, if they had not needed to use his armies to put down riots. Also a strong directory could have made people content with government instead of disinterest, and therefore wouldn’t have allowed Napoleon to create the final coup.
Napoleon’s strengths also were a factor in his rise to power, as he was popular amongst the army. He allowed them to do whatever they wanted while away on campaigns, mainly the Italian Campaign, rape and pillage, however more importantly loot and steal form the conquered regions as this gave them a second income, on top of their army wages which were a poor. He was also seen as a tactical genius because of his leadership at the Battle of Lodi in Italy, where he stopped the Austrians from destroying the bridge for several hours, creating enough time for the French army to regroup and make the crossing, which inevitably led to victory. Napoleon also had an amazing memory and could remember names of soldiers he fought with and could talk about the campaigns he had been on with his fellow soldiers the night before a battle over dinner, or simple things such as people’s names which inspired confidence amongst the men.
Napoleon was lucky that the revolution happened because under the Ancien Regime he would not have been able to rank as highly as he did in the army. His Robespierre tendencies led to him being appointed as artillery commander at the Siege of Toulon, and the success led to him being promoted to Brigadier General. Then the Thermidorian Reaction happened and Napoleon was no longer a general, but after that collapsed, Barras and the Convention called on his aid to put down rebels at the Tuileries Palace. Not only was this good as Napoleon was recognised by an executive Director, expanding his political contacts, but also got him the position of leading the army of Italy, where he really gets known by the political elite and France as a success.
This was significant in Napoleon’s rise to power as he proved himself a good general of the army, and therefore essential to Sieyes and Ducos’ plans for revolution however a strong directory wouldn’t have needed a revolution so the weakness of the Directory was the main reason for Napoleon’s rise to power.
Napoleon also had to rely on his political allies in order to rise to power. The two main plotters were Ducos and Sieyès, both in the Council of Five, the main body in the Directory, but who were upset with the situation in France. They needed someone who was popular amongst the army in order to gain support for a military coup, as well as a successful general in the eyes of the public, and as his disasters were in Egypt, no-one really knew about them, and Napoleon fitted this position, however he was third choice after two other generals had rejected the position. He was probably not first choice as Sieyès did not trust him, as he saw him, like Benjamin Constant did, as too self-centred, and after all, it was Sieyès and Ducos’ coup, not Napoleons so he wouldn’t have got credit for it, however Ducos did as his military record did not appear to suggest political ambition.
Napoleon’s brother Lucien was president of the Council of Five Hundred, and when Napoleon told the Council about the decree of outlawry there was uproar and Napoleon got escorted outside. However his brother took up his sword and vowed Napoleon would kill his brother if he did not keep his promise on liberty, and then turned on those who opposed the revolution and attacked them. Without Lucien, Napoleon would not have come to power as the Council would not have allowed the revolution to happen, but instead accelerates the process by gaining support for Napoleon, and also makes Napoleon seem like the key player in the revolution and allows Napoleon to keep power after the Coup was over.
The directory weakness was still the over-riding reason for Napoleons rise to power, because although Sieyès and Ducos asked him to lead the coup, would they have done so if the directory was strong and there was no discontent from two of the five main men in government.
The weakness of the Directory was the main reason for Napoleon’s rise to power as it had so many problems that an eventual downfall was inevitable. The political apathy was because the Directory failed to deal with the key problems of finance and war.
The Directory inherited a poor financial situation where the assignat was 1% of its original value. Much of France’s income was reliant on Napoleon and other generals sending what they had looted back to France as well as making the Italians pay reparations, but this was only a short term source of income as the Italian Campaign couldn’t keep going on, and the Egyptian campaign had limited successes so scarce money was brought back. This meant that the Directory had to increase taxes, upsetting the people, and creating the apathy, which allows Napoleon to rise without a backlash from the public. The poor finances were caused by the wars that the revolutionary governments had been fighting, and they continued through the directory until Napoleon ended them in 1802. People saw this as a waste of money and people, especially when the Jourdan Law introduced conscription which made people resent the government.
The set up of the Directory also caused upset because to participate in politics it took money, just to vote cost roughly 150-200 days of taxes, restricting political participation to 30,000 people, causing more disinterest in politics.
The Directory also failed to deal with the problem of opposition. The royalists still wanted a Bourbon restoration, and the Jacobins and Sans-Culottes were also causing problems. In the end Napoleon is able to rise to power because although he was associated with the Jacobins, he didn’t cause upset among the other groups so he is able to rise to power without a large group against him.
The weakness of the Directory was the main cause in Napoleon’s rise to power as it upsets almost everyone; even those involved in the Directory like Sieyes and Ducos, and also created political apathy which means Napoleon’s rise to power faced no opposition from the public. However Napoleon’s popularity among the army was crucial in him being selected by the original conspirators, and the politicisation of the army, another problem caused by a weak directory, allowed him to be known by the political elite.
