somebody's been only reading brit sources
What is your problems with my assertions ? The brits proposed peace to the Directoire in 1795, but the Directoire was arrogant and refused it. Without Napoléon campaigns against British interest and without any other power at war against France, peace is really possible. And French sources are more reliable on the subject of the revolutionary wars than any others on French political arena. There are enough french source to basically ignore other sources for the French revolution as all PoV are present.
No. They cared much more for the revolutionary principles than for the republican form of the government.
Revolutionary principles who would be thrown with the bath by monarchists, as the Restoration showed.
The problem with the republic is that it was very unstable, very corrupt and very unpopular.
It was not more unstable that the regime before (which was so unstable that it fell to a popular revolt), and only fell through a Coup d'Etat.
It was less corrupt than the regime before.
It was more popular than the regime before.
People, especially the elite, wanted order to secure their life, their rank and their possessions. That's why the consulate was already a very monarchical regime, though without a king and initially with limited terms. As early as 1802, the consulate was turned into a lifelong consulate.
Which they obtained during the Directoire. The consulat was only an evolution of the Directoire as some part of the Directoire refused to let their power go, and thought they could use Napoléon to do so. They used him as the face of their regime, but were outmaneuvered by Napoléon who used is popularity to win his popular consultations.
So don't be mistaken. The generals and the civil elite were in majority in favour of some kind of monarchical regime that accepted the revolutionary principles. Almost nobody thought a republican regime was adapted to a bug country with 30 million people.
Many of the generals and ministers and other civil elite were extracted from second or third rank nobility (especially the best generals like Bonaparte, Moreau, Davout, Desaix, Cambacérès, ...etc). Only the incompetence and stupidity of Louis XVI had turned them into republicans.
They were in favor of a monarchical regime before 1792, and for a short time under the Directoire (the first election under the Directoire led to a monarchical majority due to the censitary suffrage, the next one to a Jacobin majority, both were suppressed by the Girondins old majority).
Proof that nobody wanted a Republican regime ? Elections prove you wrong.
Bug country ? what does that mean ?
Third Rank nobility was the basis of the Revolution (the noblesse de Robe), because they actually were not Nobles. They were part of the Third Estate. They were lawyers who joined the revolution and then the Republic. The best generals were not from nobility : Hoche, Masséna, Augereau, Bessières, etc. Among the Ministers : Carnot, among 13 directeurs only one was from the Nobility.
It was the imcompetence and the stupidity of Louis XVI and the whole royal entourage and the Nobility that led to most of the French between 1792 and 1799 to be republicans.