From Prisoner to Power

Napoleon spent two weeks under arrest following Thermidor, his association with the Jacobins now a dangerous liability. Released but unemployed, he haunted the cafés and salons of Paris, cultivating connections and seeking opportunity. He even considered offering his services to the Ottoman Empire. His poverty during this period was genuine—he later recalled being so poor he could not afford to retrieve his laundry.

Salvation came from Paul Barras, a leading figure in the new government called the Directory. In October 1795, royalist sections of Paris rose in revolt. Barras remembered the young officer who had performed so brilliantly at Toulon and appointed him second in command of the forces defending the government. Napoleon's solution was characteristically direct: artillery positioned to fire grapeshot down the broad boulevards. The "whiff of grapeshot" on 13 Vendémiaire dispersed the insurgents and saved the Directory.