# Coup of 18 Fructidor (1797)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/1797-coup-of-18-fructidor
Location: Paris

The Directory annulled elections and arrested royalist opponents to preserve republican rule. Within the broader French Revolution period, The Revolution dismantled legal privilege and absolute monarchy, declared new rights and created a republic. War, popular mobilization, civil conflict and political terror repeatedly transformed the revolutionary state. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is French Directory (Five-man executive). Coup of 18 Fructidor is a useful marker in the longer transformation of political authority, society and culture in France. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
Coup of 18 Fructidor is a useful marker in the longer transformation of political authority, society and culture in France.

Ruler at the time: [French Directory](https://history-france.com/rulers/french-directory)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — Coup of 18 Fructidor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=Coup+of+18+Fructidor&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Coup of 18 Fructidor](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Coup+of+18+Fructidor)
- [Vie-publique — French institutions and history](https://www.vie-publique.fr/)