One of the interesting things about Javert at this point is that he is not strictly a policeman. I don't have my copy of the Brick on me to find the reference, but the letter and the ID card the students find on Javert when they capture him are a very big indication that Javert is not only a 'normal' policeman - the visible sort as he was in Montreuil - but has become part of the Secret Police network which was responsible for finding and infiltrating groups opposed to the government. Javert is therefore very much a spy.
As such my reasoning when dealing with the Interlude years and the Barricade tends to follow along these lines:
- The Javert of the Brick is crafty, intelligent, street-wise and resourceful. He's always been something of a lone wolf and is good at working by himself. - Said intelligence and initiative would have marked him out for promotion and special assignments. (I think somewhere it's mentioned he came to the notice of M. Chabouillet... It's been a while since I've read it.) The way Hugo writes him I got the impression that Javert's become something of a liason between the regular police and the Secret Police, working for whichever wants him at that time. His ability to work alone would make him an excellent field operative. - So if he were working for the Secret Police, Javert would have been there working alone to 1) work out the strength and numbers at that particular barricade, 2) see just how popular the support for them was, 3) take names and remember faces for future questioning and arrests after the revolt has been dealt with, and 4) report back to his superiors the lie of the land and tell them whether the army can simply attack or whether its facing a bigger problem. It's almost a guarantee there was a spy at the other barricade doing the same thing as Javert. - As to recognition: the barricade Javert was at was outside his usual district of operation, and with the students being from the bourgeoisie and not used to mixing with the police, the risk of Javert being recognised was very low indeed. Had Gavroche not been there, it is likely Javert would have gone undetected.
Is that of some help? If you want to know more about the dealings of the Secret Police around Javert's time in Paris, the best person to look up is François Eugène Vidocq. He basically created the set-up, and I like to think was probably the man responsible for recruiting Javert.
I have many of the similar thoughts. My recollection is that Hugo does not refer to Javert as a "spy" until 1830s part of the book. I need to go back through and double check that, but it definitely becomes more prevalent later in the book. That would certainly support the theory of Javert being recruited in these in between years.
I have read about Vidocq (although not his memoirs - not yet - that is coming) and love AmZ's writing about Javert as a Surete agent. However, the Surete was a criminal investigations unit. The students were committing treason, which goes well beyond the kind of thievery and street crime the Surete usually dealt with. The rebellion was not handled by the police, but by the National Guard. That got me wondering about other agencies with spies. After I read that Charles X had his own political secret police (IRL it lasted from 1815-1820 or so, but I am going to take significant liberties with that), I thought that instead of invoking Vidocq, Javert (who Hugo points out repeatedly is a royalist) is going to get tangled up in a secret agency that reports to the King. In the years my story will cover, there are three, very different kings of France, who handle this agency in different ways.
As with other secret agencies, control of your agents is a significant problem. Vidocq's control came from the fact he employed criminals and every one of his agents knew exactly where they would wind up if they stepped too far out of line. Controlling Javert is a different problem. He takes such pride in being correct, he answers to no one - not even his bosses. As an agent, he would be worthless if he takes off, the way he does as a policeman. As an agent, he may be asked to do something that challenges his personal moral compass, and he has to do it. So, part of what I am playing with is how do they establish that control over him, without completely breaking him.
As such my reasoning when dealing with the Interlude years and the Barricade tends to follow along these lines:
- The Javert of the Brick is crafty, intelligent, street-wise and resourceful. He's always been something of a lone wolf and is good at working by himself.
- Said intelligence and initiative would have marked him out for promotion and special assignments. (I think somewhere it's mentioned he came to the notice of M. Chabouillet... It's been a while since I've read it.) The way Hugo writes him I got the impression that Javert's become something of a liason between the regular police and the Secret Police, working for whichever wants him at that time. His ability to work alone would make him an excellent field operative.
- So if he were working for the Secret Police, Javert would have been there working alone to 1) work out the strength and numbers at that particular barricade, 2) see just how popular the support for them was, 3) take names and remember faces for future questioning and arrests after the revolt has been dealt with, and 4) report back to his superiors the lie of the land and tell them whether the army can simply attack or whether its facing a bigger problem. It's almost a guarantee there was a spy at the other barricade doing the same thing as Javert.
- As to recognition: the barricade Javert was at was outside his usual district of operation, and with the students being from the bourgeoisie and not used to mixing with the police, the risk of Javert being recognised was very low indeed. Had Gavroche not been there, it is likely Javert would have gone undetected.
Is that of some help? If you want to know more about the dealings of the Secret Police around Javert's time in Paris, the best person to look up is François Eugène Vidocq. He basically created the set-up, and I like to think was probably the man responsible for recruiting Javert.
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I have read about Vidocq (although not his memoirs - not yet - that is coming) and love AmZ's writing about Javert as a Surete agent. However, the Surete was a criminal investigations unit. The students were committing treason, which goes well beyond the kind of thievery and street crime the Surete usually dealt with. The rebellion was not handled by the police, but by the National Guard. That got me wondering about other agencies with spies. After I read that Charles X had his own political secret police (IRL it lasted from 1815-1820 or so, but I am going to take significant liberties with that), I thought that instead of invoking Vidocq, Javert (who Hugo points out repeatedly is a royalist) is going to get tangled up in a secret agency that reports to the King. In the years my story will cover, there are three, very different kings of France, who handle this agency in different ways.
As with other secret agencies, control of your agents is a significant problem. Vidocq's control came from the fact he employed criminals and every one of his agents knew exactly where they would wind up if they stepped too far out of line. Controlling Javert is a different problem. He takes such pride in being correct, he answers to no one - not even his bosses. As an agent, he would be worthless if he takes off, the way he does as a policeman. As an agent, he may be asked to do something that challenges his personal moral compass, and he has to do it. So, part of what I am playing with is how do they establish that control over him, without completely breaking him.
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