Malet coup of 1812
- When
- 1812
- Where
- La Force prison, Paris; Place Vendôme, Paris; Paris garrison; council of war, Paris
- Episodes
- 4
On 23 October 1812, while Napoleon campaigned in Russia, the imprisoned republican General Claude François de Malet escaped and used forged documents to convince Paris officers that the Emperor had died, briefly seizing control of guard units and arresting ministers before his plot collapsed and he was executed.
Episodes
- Escape and forged orders
Malet escaped captivity at 4 a.m. on 23 October 1812, donned a general's uniform, and used forged orders to free Lahorie and Guidal from La Force prison.
- Seizure of authority in Paris
Claiming Napoleon had died, Malet took control of National Guard elements, arrested government ministers, and established himself at the Place Vendôme district general's offices.
- Confrontation with Hulin and collapse
When General Hulin requested verification of the senatorial documents, Malet shot and injured him; an officer recognised the documents as fakes and arrested Malet.
- Trial and execution of the conspirators
On 29 October 1812 a council of war convicted all 23 accused, including Malet, Guidal and Lahorie; Malet was executed by firing squad six days after the coup.
Background and detail
Background. Claude François de Malet, born in Dole in 1754 to an aristocratic family, was a republican who consistently opposed Napoleon. By 1804 a brigadier general, he resigned his commission after Napoleon was crowned Emperor. Accused by Eugène de Beauharnais of conspiring against Napoleon, he was removed from his position and imprisoned in France.
Preparation and Opportunity. Malet remained under house arrest in Paris from July 1810, and during his detention he conceived and planned Napoleon's overthrow. In 1812 he was permitted to retire to a sanatorium at his wife's request. Napoleon's absence commanding the invasion of Russia provided an ideal opportunity to strike.
Aftermath. On 29 October 1812 a council of war tried 23 civilians and officers, including Malet, Guidal and Lahorie, for treason; all were convicted. Colonel Jean François Rabbe, commander of the Paris Guard, was spared execution. Minister of War Clarke investigated all general officers present in Paris on 23 October, suspending those he judged to have shown support for Malet.
People involved
- Claude François de Malet · conspirator and ringleader; republican general who staged the coup
- Pierre-Augustin Hulin · commander of the Paris garrison, shot and injured by Malet
- Victor Lahorie · general released from La Force prison and drawn into the plot
- Emmanuel Maximilien-Joseph Guidal · general released from La Force prison and drawn into the plot
- Jean François Rabbe · colonel, commander of the Paris Guard; spared execution
- Clarke, Minister of War · Minister of War (surname only; identity unresolved) who investigated and suspended officers after the coup
Sources
- Malet coup of 1812 Wikipedia, revision of 2026-07-11
- Claude François de Malet Wikipedia, revision of 2026-05-30
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.