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→Before and After the French Revolution
During the French Revolution, many spies, often working for multiple sides, arose. The French Revolution was, on the one hand, a great fear for the monarchies in Europe, but on the other hand also an opportunity to infiltrate France by outside powers. One such spy was Emmanuel Henri Louis Alexandre. He initially supported the French Revolution and became an early member of the National Constitutional Assembly that formed after the deposing of the French (Bourbon) monarchy. He famously changed his mind, after Marie Antoinette, a former love interest, was seized by the revolutionaries. The Jacobines, a radical group in the French revolutionaries, were often most worried about spies and create counter spies to look out for any counter-revolutionaries. Their paranoia, however, likely led to the demise of many innocent people. The fear of spying during the so-called "Reign of Terror," in effect, helped lead to the downfall of the revolutionaries, who became to be seen as oppressive and not holding up the ideals of the revolution. That paved the way for Napoleon's takeover.<ref>For more on spying during the French Revolution, see: Brown, H.G. (2006) <i>Ending the French Revolution: violence, justice, and repression from the terror to Napoleon</i>. Charlottesville, University of Virginia Press.</ref>
After the takeover by Napoleon, plots involving various international and national spies were devised to depose Napoleon. This included the Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise in 1800, led by Pierre Robinault de Saint-Régeant and others, that attempted to blow up a bomb as Napoleon passed by. This plot failed, where it only succeeded in killing innocent people, but led Napoleon to become more paranoid with his safety. The increased paranoia by Napoleon and European powers as Napoleon began to become stronger developed into a network of spies and counter spies. Napoleon successfully used spies to help bring down the reign of Gustav IV Adolf, the king of Sweden, and place a successor who was more friendly to France.<ref>For more on Pierre Robinault de Saint-Régeant, see: Falk, A. (2007) <i> Napoleon against himself: a psychobiography</i>. 1st ed. Charlottesville, Va, Pitchstone Pub.</ref>
==Recent Periods==
