The French Provisional Government or French Executive Commission of 1815 replaced the

French government of the Hundred Days The French Government of the Hundred Days was formed by Napoleon I upon his resumption of the Imperial throne on 20 March 1815, replacing the government of the first Bourbon restoration which had been formed by King Louis XVIII the previous year. F ...

that had been formed by

Napoleon 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 who ...

after his return from exile on

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...

. It was formed on 22 June 1815 after the abdication of Napoleon following his defeat at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

. The government acted under the nominal authority of Napoleon II, who had technically succeeded his father as Emperor after the abdication; however, this was a mere formality, since Napoleon II was a four-year-old child and was in Austria with his mother

Marie Louise Marie Louise or Marie-Louise may refer to: People *Marie Louise of Orléans (1662–1689), daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, queen consort of Charles II of Spain *Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel (1688–1765), daughter of Charles I, Landgrave ...

, and thus unable to actually exercise his powers. Following the second Bourbon Restoration, on 9 July 1815 the Provisional Government was replaced by the

Ministry of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord The Ministry of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord was formed on 9 July 1815 after the second Bourbon Restoration under King Louis XVIII of France. It replaced the French Provisional Government of 1815 that had been formed when Napoleon abdic ...

Formation

On 12 June 1815 Napoleon left Paris for modern day Belgium, where the two Coalition armies, an allied one commanded by the

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

and a Prussian one under

Prince Blücher A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

were assembling. Napoleon was defeated at the

on 18 June 1815. He returned to Paris and abdicated for the second time on 22 June 1815. That day the two chambers nominated the members of the Provisional Government, that would serve as government until the second Bourbon Restoration.

Members

The members of the commission named on 22 June 1815 were: * Joseph Fouché (President) * Lazare Carnot * Paul Grenier *

Armand Augustin Louis de Caulaincourt Armand-Augustin-Louis de Caulaincourt, Duke of Vicenza (, 9 December 177319 February 1827), was a French military officer, diplomat and close advisor to Napoleon I. Early life and family Armand de Caulaincourt was born into a noble family in the ...

Nicolas Marie Quinette Nicolas Marie Quinette, Baron de Rochemont (September 16, 1762 in Paris – June 14, 1821 in Brussels) was a French politician. He was a notary in Soissons. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1791, a member of the Convention, and M ...

Ministers

On 23 June 1815 new provisional commissioners were named to head four of the ministries: * Foreign Affairs: Louis Pierre Édouard, Baron Bignon * Interior: Claude-Marie Carnot * Police: Joseph Pelet de la Lozère * Justice: Antoine Boulay de la Meurthe The other commissioners retained their positions. They were: * Finance:

Martin-Michel-Charles Gaudin Martin-Michel-Charles Gaudin, 1st , Gaete (19 January 1756 – 5 November 1841) was a French people, French statesman who served as Minister of Finance of the French Empire under Napoleon I, from November 1799 to March 1814, and during the H ...

* Treasury:

Nicolas François, Count Mollien Nicolas François, Count Mollien (born 28 February 1758 in Rouen, Seine-Inférieure – died 20 April 1850 in Paris, Seine), was a French financier. The son of a merchant, he early showed ability, and entered the ministry of finance, where he rose ...

* Navy and Colonies:

Denis Decrès Denis Decrès (18 June 1761 – 7 December 1820) was an officer of the French Navy and count, later duke of the First Empire. Early career Decrès was born in Châteauvillain, Haute-Marne on 18 June 1761 and joined the Navy at the age of 18, ...

* War:

Louis-Nicolas Davout Louis-Nicolas d'Avout (10 May 1770 – 1 June 1823), better known as Davout, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and th ...

Events

On 23 June 1815 Napoleon II was declared Emperor. The two Coalition armies under

and

and advanced from the north and surrounded Paris. On 3 July 1815 the commissioners surrendered Paris under the terms of the

Convention of St. Cloud The Convention of Saint-Cloud was a military convention signed on 3 July 1815 by which the French army under Marshal Davout surrendered Paris to the armies of Prince Blücher and the Duke of Wellington, ending the hostilities of the Hundred Days. T ...

. With the capital and departments occupied by

Seventh Coalition The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...

troops, the Executive Commission was unable to function and resigned on 7 July 1815. The

ministry of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord The Ministry of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord was formed on 9 July 1815 after the second Bourbon Restoration under King Louis XVIII of France. It replaced the French Provisional Government of 1815 that had been formed when Napoleon abdic ...

took office on 9 July 1815.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Provisional Government of 1815 French governments 1815 establishments in France 1815 disestablishments in France Cabinets established in 1815 Cabinets disestablished in 1815 Hundred Days