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Vicomte de Barras Paul François Jean Nicolas | |
|---|---|
 Colored engraving byPierre Alexandre Tardieu after a drawing by Hilaire Ledru, 1798 | |
| President of the Directory | |
| In office 26 November 1798 – 26 May 1799 | |
| Preceded by | Jean-François Reubell |
| Succeeded by | Philippe-Antoine Merlin |
| In office 4 December 1797 – 25 February 1798 | |
| Preceded by | Louis-Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux |
| Succeeded by | Philippe-Antoine Merlin |
| Member of theDirectory | |
| In office 2 November 1795 – 10 November 1799 | |
| Preceded by | Office created (preceded by the President of theCommittee of Public SafetyDe Cambacérès) |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished (succeeded by theFirst ConsulNapoleon Bonaparte) |
| President of the National Convention | |
| In office 4 February 1795 – 19 February 1795 | |
| Preceded by | Stanislas Joseph François Xavier Rovère |
| Succeeded by | François Louis Bourdon |
| Member of theNational Convention | |
| In office 20 September 1792 – 10 November 1795 | |
| Constituency | Var |
| Director of the Directory | |
| In office 2 November 1795 – 9 November 1799 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Paul François Jean Nicolas (1755-06-30)30 June 1755 |
| Died | 29 January 1829(1829-01-29) (aged 73) |
| Resting place | Père Lachaise Cemetery |
| Political party | The Mountain (1792–1794) Thermidorian (1794–1799) |
| Spouse | Unknown wife (left) |
| Domestic partner(s) | Sophie Arnould, Thérésa Tallien, Joséphine de Beauharnais |
| Profession | Military officer |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of France |
| Branch/service |  Royal Army |
| Years of service | 1771–1783 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Régiment Royal Roussillon |
| Battles/wars | |
Paul François Jean Nicolas,Vicomte de Barras (French:[bara:s]; 30 June 1755 – 29 January 1829), commonly known asPaul Barras, was aFrench politician of theFrench Revolution, and the main executive leader of theDirectory regime of 1795–1799.
Descended from a noble family ofProvence, he was born atFox-Amphoux, in today'sVardépartement.[1] At the age of sixteen, he entered the regiment ofLanguedoc as a "gentlemancadet". In 1776, he embarked forFrench India.[1][2]
Shipwrecked on his voyage, he still managed to reachPondicherry in time to contribute to the defence of that city during theSecond Anglo-Mysore War.[1] Besieged by British forces, the city surrendered on 18 October 1778; after the French garrison was released, Barras returned to France.[2][Note 1] He took part in a second expedition to the region in 1782/83, serving in the fleet of the renowned AdmiralPierre André de Suffren.[1] Afterwards, he spent several years back home in France at leisure in relative obscurity.[1][2]
At the outbreak of the Revolution in 1789, he advocated thedemocratic cause, and became one of the administrators of theVar. In June 1792 he took his seat in the high national court atOrléans. Later in that year, on the outbreak of theFrench Revolutionary Wars, Barras becamecommissioner to theFrench Army, which was facing the forces ofSardinia in theItalian Peninsula, and entered theNational Convention as a deputy for the Var.
In January 1793, he voted with the majority for theexecution of Louis XVI. However, he was mostly absent from Paris on missions to the regions of the south-east of France. During this period, he made the acquaintance ofNapoleon Bonaparte at theSiege of Toulon (his later clash with Napoleon made him downplay the latter's abilities as a soldier: he noted in hisMemoirs that the siege had been carried out by 30,000 men against a minorroyalist defending force, whereas the real number was 12,000; he also sought to minimize the share taken by Bonaparte in the capture of the city).[3] When Barras became Director, he gave Napoleon position of general in the battalion of Italians.[4]
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In 1794, Barras sided with the men who sought to overthrowMaximilien Robespierre's faction. TheThermidorian Reaction of 27 July 1794 made him rise to prominence. In the next year, when the Convention felt threatened by the malcontentNational Guards of Paris, it appointed Barras to command the troops engaged in its defence. His nomination of Bonaparte led to the adoption of violent measures, ensuring the dispersion of royalists and other malcontents in the streets near theTuileries Palace, remembered as the13 Vendémiaire (5 October 1795). Subsequently, Barras became one of the fiveDirectors who controlled the executive of theFrench Republic.
Owing to his intimate relations withJoséphine de Beauharnais, Barras helped to facilitate a marriage between her and Bonaparte. Some of his contemporaries alleged that this was the reason behind Barras's nomination of Bonaparte to thecommand of the army of Italy early in the year 1796. Bonaparte's success gave the Directory unprecedented stability, and when, in the summer of 1797, the royalist and survivingGirondist opposition again met the government with resistance, Bonaparte sent GeneralCharles-Pierre Augereau, aJacobin, to repress their movement in theCoup of 18 Fructidor (4 September 1797).
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Barras was alleged to have dozens of mistresses and male lovers.[citation needed] The corruption of his administration was claimed to be extraordinary even for France.[5] Barras's alleged immorality in public and private life is often cited[by whom?] as a major contribution to the fall of the Directory, and the creation of theConsulate. In any case, Bonaparte met little resistance during his18 Brumaire coup of November 1799. Barras supported the change of government, but was left aside by theFirst Consul when the latter reshaped the government of France.
Since he had amassed a large fortune, Barras spent his later years in luxury. Napoleon had him confined to theChâteau de Grosbois (Barras's property), then exiled to Brussels and Rome, and ultimately, in 1810,interned inMontpellier; set free after the fall of theEmpire, he died inChaillot (now Paris), and was interred inPère Lachaise Cemetery. Although a partisan of theSecond Restoration, Barras was kept in check during the reigns ofLouis XVIII andCharles X (and hisMemoirs were censored after his death).
Richard McCabe played Barras in theNapoleon episode of theBBC seriesHeroes and Villains (2007).
Barras was portrayed byTahar Rahim in the 2023 filmNapoleon.[6]
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