This is essentially how the Directory managed to maintain power during the French Revolution when their party was set to lose a popular election in 1798. In dep

This is essentially how the Directory managed to maintain power during the French Revolution when their party was set to lose a popular election in 1798. In departments where the Directory was expected to do especially poorly, they engineered electoral irregularities ahead of the vote that could then be used to invalidate the results. This became known as the Coup of 22 Floréal.