After a second invasion in 1798, King Charles Emmanuel IV escaped to Rome, but he never agreed to sign a new peace treaty, approving a final arrangement of its continental territories according to international law.

However, Russian Marshall Alexander Suvorov was the sole political actor showing the will to restore the Kingdom of Sardinia's authority in Piedmont: as the old Republic’s fate was the annexation to France, the Austrian goal was the union of the region to the Holy Empire.

To mark a difference with the Austrian occupation, the First Consul temporary suspended his annexation desires, and the local government took the name of Piedmontese Nation (Italian: Nazione Piemontese).

Its government changed a number of times during its brief existence, and was made up of the following people:[4] Paris introduced French-style reforms within the Subalpine Republic.

Napoleon took this opportunity to declare the final forfeiture of the old sovereignty over Piedmont, and plans were made to annex it to France.