The Constitution of the Year III (french: Constitution de l’an III) was the constitution of the French First Republic that established the

Executive Directory The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and replaced by ...

. Adopted by the convention on 5

Fructidor Fructidor () is the twelfth month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the Latin word ''fructus'', which means "fruit". Fructidor is the third month of the summer quarter (''mois d'été''). By the Gregorian calendar, Fr ...

Year III (22 August 1795) and approved by

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...

on 6 September. Its preamble is the Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and of the Citizen of 1795. It remained in effect until the

coup of 18 Brumaire The Coup d'état of 18 Brumaire brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and led to the Coronation of Napoleon as Emperor. This bloodless '' coup d'état'' ...

(9 November 1799) effectively ended the Revolutionary period and began the rise to power of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

. It was more conservative than the not implemented, radically democratic

French Constitution of 1793 The Constitution of 1793 (french: Acte constitutionnel du 24 juin 1793), also known as the Constitution of the Year I or the Montagnard Constitution, was the second constitution ratified for use during the French Revolution under the First Repu ...

. Largely the work of political theorist

Pierre Daunou Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

, it established a bicameral legislature; an upper body known as the

Council of Ancients The Council of Ancients or Council of Elders (french: Conseil des Anciens) was the upper house of the French legislature under the Constitution of the Year III, during the period commonly known as the Directory (French: ''Directoire''), from ...

, and a lower house, or Council of 500. This was intended to slow down the legislative process, in reaction to the wild swings of policy resulting from the unicameral

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

, Legislative Assembly, and

National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...

. All taxpaying French males over 25 were eligible to vote in primary elections, subject to a one year residence provision; it is estimated these totalled around 5 million, more than the 4 million under the 1791 Constitution. They selected 30,000 electors, over the age of 30 and income equivalent to 150 days taxes, who in turn voted for the Council of 500. A five-man Directory, chosen by lot each year, constituted the executive branch. The central government retained great power, including emergency powers to curb freedom of the press and freedom of association. The Declaration of Rights and Duties of Mankind at the beginning of the constitution included an explicit ban on slavery. It was succeeded by the

Constitution of the Year VIII The Constitution of the Year VIII (french: Constitution de l'an VIII or french: Constitution du 22 frimaire an VIII) was a national constitution of France, adopted on 24 December 1799 (during Year VIII of the French Republican calendar), which ...

, which established the

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth c ...

Timeline of French constitutions

References

Sources

* 1795 in law

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

Constitutions of France Defunct constitutions 1795 events of the French Revolution Legal history of France 1795 documents French Directory {{constitution-stub