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Prior to the French Revolution, France had begun developing elaborate spy networks that spanned Russia to the East and England to the North. Famous spies included Chevalier d'Éon, who had androgynous characteristics, making that made him also suitable asuitable as a female and male spy. In fact, he was known as a woman for over 33 years and penetrated the Russian court as a female spy. However, in other aspects, the Chevalier performed as a male spy and soldier. It was only at his death that his true sex was determinedto many, even among his French allies.<ref>For more on Chevalier d'Éon, see: Burrows, S., Conlin, J., Goulbourne, R. & Mainz, V. (2010) <i>The Chevalier d’Eon and his worlds gender, espionage and politics in the eighteenth century</i>. Bloomsbury Academic; London.</ref>

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 created counter spies to look out for any counter-revolutionaries. Their paranoia, however, likely led to the demise of many innocent people, leading to those supporting the revolution to turn against them. The fear of spying during the so-called "Reign of Terror," in effect, helped lead to the downfall of the revolutionariesrevolution's ideals, although that would later live on, who as the state became to be seen as more oppressive and not holding up than it was even during the ideals of the revolutionmonarchy period. That paved the way for Napoleon's takeoveras discontent arose.<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 spiesthat attempted to infiltrate the courts of his adversaries. Napoleon successfully , for instance, 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>