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Conspiration des poignards
Encyclopedia
The Conspiration des poignards (Daggers Conspiracy) or Complot de l'Opéra (Opera Plot) was an alleged assassination attempt against Napoleon Bonaparte, the members of the plot were not clearly established. Authorities at the time presented it as an assassination attempt on Napoleon at the exit of the Paris operahouse on 18 vendémiaire
year IX (10 October 1800), which was prevented by the police force of Joseph Fouché
. However, this version was questioned very early on.
In his Mémoires, Fouché affirmed that, towards mid-September 1800, a plot arose aiming at assassinating Napoleon at the operahouse. Someone named Harel, presented as one of the accomplices, worked in liaison with the war commissioner Lefebvre, to bring the revelations to Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne
, Napoleon's secretary, indicating the plotters were Roman Cerrachi and Diana, Joseph Antoine Aréna, brother of the Corsican deputy who had declared against the Napoleon; the painter and patriotic fanatic François Topino-Lebrun, and Dominique Demerville, former clerk of the Committee of public safety
, closely associated with Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac
. Harel was charged with drawing up a trap for the plotters, four armed men, laid out for the assassination of Napoleon, on the evening of October 10, with the performance at opera of Horaces. The day of the attack, the men stationed by the police force, and on the account of which entreated had been misused, instead of stabbing Bonaparte, stopped Diana, Cerrachi and their two complices. all the others presumably retreated and were apprehended at their residence.
For modern historians this was a manipulation by the police force, made possible by an agent provocateur, Harel, who had infiltrated the group. After Plot of the Rue Saint-Nicaise
, the members of the "daggers conspiracy", presented as a Jacobin
plot, were judged in front of the criminal court of The Seine. Four of them were condemned to death 19 nivôse
year IX (January 9, 1801), at eleven o'clock in the evening, after three days of debates and carried out January 30 after rejection of the appeal.
Vendémiaire
Vendémiaire was the first month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the French word vendange .Vendémiaire was the first month of the autumn quarter . It started on the day of the autumnal equinox, which fell between 22 September and 24 September, inclusive. It thus ended...
year IX (10 October 1800), which was prevented by the police force of Joseph Fouché
Joseph Fouché
Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante was a French statesman and Minister of Police under Napoleon Bonaparte. In English texts his title is often translated as Duke of Otranto.-Youth:Fouché was born in Le Pellerin, a small village near Nantes...
. However, this version was questioned very early on.
In his Mémoires, Fouché affirmed that, towards mid-September 1800, a plot arose aiming at assassinating Napoleon at the operahouse. Someone named Harel, presented as one of the accomplices, worked in liaison with the war commissioner Lefebvre, to bring the revelations to Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne
Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne
Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne , French diplomat, was born at Sens.He was educated at the military school of Brienne in Champagne along with Napoleon Bonaparte; and although the solitary habits of the latter made intimacy difficult, the two youths seem to have been on friendly terms...
, Napoleon's secretary, indicating the plotters were Roman Cerrachi and Diana, Joseph Antoine Aréna, brother of the Corsican deputy who had declared against the Napoleon; the painter and patriotic fanatic François Topino-Lebrun, and Dominique Demerville, former clerk of the Committee of public safety
Committee of Public Safety
The Committee of Public Safety , created in April 1793 by the National Convention and then restructured in July 1793, formed the de facto executive government in France during the Reign of Terror , a stage of the French Revolution...
, closely associated with Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac
Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac
Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac was a French politician and journalist, one of the most notorious members of the National Convention during the French Revolution.-Early career:He was born at Tarbes in Gascony...
. Harel was charged with drawing up a trap for the plotters, four armed men, laid out for the assassination of Napoleon, on the evening of October 10, with the performance at opera of Horaces. The day of the attack, the men stationed by the police force, and on the account of which entreated had been misused, instead of stabbing Bonaparte, stopped Diana, Cerrachi and their two complices. all the others presumably retreated and were apprehended at their residence.
For modern historians this was a manipulation by the police force, made possible by an agent provocateur, Harel, who had infiltrated the group. After Plot of the Rue Saint-Nicaise
Plot of the Rue Saint-Nicaise
The plot of the Rue Saint-Nicaise, also known as the Machine infernale plot, was an assassination attempt on the life of the First Consul of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, in Paris on 24 December 1800...
, the members of the "daggers conspiracy", presented as a Jacobin
Jacobin (politics)
A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
plot, were judged in front of the criminal court of The Seine. Four of them were condemned to death 19 nivôse
Nivôse
For the frigate of the French Navy, see Nivôse Nivôse was the fourth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word nivosus, which means snow....
year IX (January 9, 1801), at eleven o'clock in the evening, after three days of debates and carried out January 30 after rejection of the appeal.
Conspirators
The members of the plot were:- Adjudant Joseph Antoine Aréna, brother of Barthelemy Aréna who had tried to stab Bonaparte at the time of the coup d'étatCoup d'étatA coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
of the 18 Brumaire18 BrumaireThe coup of 18 Brumaire was the coup d'état by which General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate...
; - Dominique Demerville, former secretary of BarèreBertrand Barère de VieuzacBertrand Barère de Vieuzac was a French politician and journalist, one of the most notorious members of the National Convention during the French Revolution.-Early career:He was born at Tarbes in Gascony...
; - Giuseppe CeracchiGiuseppe CeracchiGiuseppe Ceracchi was an Italian sculptor, active in a Neoclassic style in Italy, England and the nascent United States, who was a passionate republican during the American and French revolutions...
, Roman sculptor one of the founders of Roman republic in 1798; - François Topino-Lebrun, painter, former student of Jacques Louis David and member of the revolutionary tribunalRevolutionary TribunalThe Revolutionary Tribunal was a court which was instituted in Paris by the Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders, and eventually became one of the most powerful engines of the Reign of Terror....
jury; - Joseph Diana, 28 years, other Roman insurgent, notary, discharged;
- Armand Daiteg, 67 years, sculptor, discharged;
- Denis Lavigne, 66 years, trader, discharged;
- Madeleine Fumey, 38 years, cooker or mistress of Demerville, discharged