- The Directory, a five-member executive body led by Paul Barras, continued to govern France after the end of the Reign of Terror.
- The French Revolutionary Wars reached a peak, with Napoleon Bonaparte leading the French armies to victories in Italy, notably the victories against the Austrian army at Montenotte, Millesimo, Lodi and Arcola. These victories allowed France to expand its control over northern Italy and established Napoleon's reputation as a military leader.
- General Lazare Hoche led a successful campaign against the royalists in Vendée, effectively ending the Vendée Revolt and consolidating Republican control over Western France.
- In October, a royalist conspiracy known as the "Babouvist Conspiracy" was discovered. Its leader, Gracchus Babeuf, and several other conspirators were arrested and executed.
- The creation of the Institut national des arts et métiers (National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts), a leading French institution for technological education, which played a crucial role in advancing scientific knowledge and industrial innovation.