The Coup of 18 Fructidor occurred on 4 September 1797 when the Royalist faction was overthrown by force. The treason of Pichegru came to light at this time and he was exiled from France. Because of his well-known friendship with the traitor, Salme was denounced by Hoche as "Pichegru's vile spy" and dismissed from the army. After over a year of forced retirement, he secured a post with the "Army of Egypt" on 9 November 1798 due to the intervention of Kléber. However, Salme missed the sailing at Ancona and instead joined the "Army of Rome" under Jean Étienne Championnet. At that time Guillaume Philibert Duhesme's division of 3,000–4,000 men was near Ancona. In the face of an attack by the Neapolitan army, Championnet evacuated Rome on 27 November. However, the Neapolitan army quickly unraveled and the French recaptured Rome on 15 December and seized Naples itself on 23 January 1799. Soon after, Championnet got into a dispute with French government agents, was removed from command on 28 February and placed under arrest. MacDonald replaced him as commander of the army.