Claude François de Malet, a French general, begins a conspiracy to overthrow Napoleon Bonaparte, claiming that the Emperor died in Russia and that he is now the commandant of Paris.
The Malet coup of 1812 was an attempted coup d'tat in Paris, France, aimed at removing Napoleon I, then campaigning in Russia, from power. The coup was engineered by Republican general Claude Franois 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 (June 28, 1754 – October 31, 1812) was born in Dole to an aristocratic family. He was executed by firing squad, six days after staging a failed republican coup d'état as Napoleon I returned from the disastrous Russian campaign in 1812.