Malet coup of 1812

Malet coup of 1812

Execution of Malet
Date	October 23, 1812
Location	Paris, France
Participants	Claude François de Malet the Duke of Rovigo Henri Clarke Pierre-Augustin Hulin
Outcome	Suppression of the coup

The Malet coup of 1812 was an attempted coup d'état in Paris, France, aimed at removing Napoleon I, then campaigning in Russia, from power. The coup was engineered by Republican general Claude François de Malet, who had spent time in prison because of his opposition to Napoleon. The coup failed, and the leading conspirators were executed.

Claude François de Malet was born in 1754, distinguishing himself in the French Revolutionary Wars and slowly becoming disenchanted with Napoleon Bonaparte, opposing the Corsican general's rise to the position of First Consul. Malet, by 1804 a brigadier general, resigned his commission after Napoleon was crowned Emperor of the French. After his resignation, Malet was made governor of Pavia, then of Rome, both of which were under French control. After Napoleon's stepson, Viceroy of Italy Eugène de Beauharnais, accused Malet of conspiring against Napoleon, the governor was removed from his position and incarcerated in France. In 1812, Malet was allowed to retire to a sanitarium, upon the request of his wife.

While at the sanitarium, Malet met with several agents of the House of Bourbon, who were working to replace the First Empire with a restored monarchy. Despite these connections, Malet appears to have had strong republican, rather than royalist, leanings. At the sanitarium he began to plan a coup which would topple the emperor. Napoleon was absent from France in 1812, commanding his troops in the invasion of Russia, providing Malet with an ideal opportunity to strike. With several others, he crafted detailed plans for a seizure of power, which was scheduled for late October. Malet and his co-conspirators even planned a provisional government, to be installed after the coup. Lazare Carnot was to be part of this government, serving as interim president.