24 Fructidor Year IV

The economy is awful, even I am feeling the effects of it and I’m honestly not too happy with how our new government is handling it.  I don’t know if this whole Directory thing is really working out, we French are a hardy people and we’ve made it through a lot in these last several years, but I’m worried that this is going to decimate the poorer population.  There is a point where issues need to be addressed and it turns out that someone had the gall to try and do that today, though they didn’t really succeed in their desired task.  From what I’ve heard, a man called Babeuf attempted to overthrow the Directory by force last night, but was unfortunately surprised by the cavalry because someone let information of the coup slip to what happened to be a spy for the government.  Oh the government, getting themselves snuck into everything, what don’t they know these days?  But, they found out and the overthrowing of the government was averted.  I can’t say I’m happy about it, I really feel like there needs to be a change.  We, the people of France, are not getting the say that we have been promised since we decapitated our King and instead of dying at the guillotine, people are dying from starvation.  I am one of the lucky ones because my money gives me an advantage, but there are moments when I think about packing up my belongings and leaving France.  There is word that the general Napoleon, who is being hailed as a hero of France, may try to overthrow the Directory and institute a new government, but who knows if that has any truth to it.  Who knows if it would even be successful?  He is essentially the head of the French military right now so he does have that backing that would keep him from being swatted aside like Babeuf this morning.  It sounds as though Babeuf and one of his accomplices may be executed soon, I hope that this isn’t the start of another period where we become bloodthirsty and a new Robespierre rises up to claim the lives of however many innocents, I don’t know.   I wish that there had been some sort of planning before we decided to behead the King, now we have hardly any foreign allies to ask for aide from because they all fear that by associating with us that they will be dethroned.  If we had only thought more clearly about the situation and didn’t act so passionately, but that is how we Frenchmen are; passionate and, for now at least, free.