The Law of 22 Floréal Year VI () was a law—arguably constituting a

bloodless coup A nonviolent revolution is a revolution conducted primarily by unarmed civilians using tactics of civil resistance, including various forms of nonviolent protest, to bring about the departure of governments seen as entrenched and authoritari ...

—passed on 11 May 1798 (22 Floréal Year VI by the French Republican Calendar) by which 106

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

deputies were deprived of their seats in the

Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the ...

, the lower house of the legislature under the

French 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, Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and r ...

. Following the Coup of Fructidor, the power of the Monarchists and the Royalists was largely broken. However, in order to do this, the Directory needed to rely on support from the Left. In order to capitalise on the subsequent situation within the government, far-left parties such as the

Montagnards Montagnard (''of the mountain'' or ''mountain dweller'') may refer to: * Montagnard (French Revolution), members of The Mountain (''La Montagne''), a political group during the French Revolution (1790s) ** Montagnard (1848 revolution), members of t ...

and the

Jacobins , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = P ...

united together. They criticised the Directory for the reintroduction of indirect taxes and other economic policies that were seen as remnants of the

ancien regime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word fo ...

. Many Jacobin deputies also criticised the Directory for allowing generals in the war to enrich themselves from the occupation of territories such as Italy and the Rhine. In response, the Directory shut down eleven Jacobin newspapers. Despite these efforts of suppression, the

1798 French legislative election The French Directory election of 1798 was held between 9 and 18 April 1798 and marked the beginning of the end of the French far-left and rise of the anti-mountain and anti-jacobin parties in France. The 1798 elections were partially invalidated ...

resulted in the Radical left controlling 106 seats in the National Assembly and the president of the

becoming

Marie-Joseph Chénier Marie-Joseph Blaise de Chénier (11 February 1764 – 10 January 1811) was a French poet, dramatist and politician of French and Greek origin. Biography The younger brother of André Chénier, Joseph Chénier was born at Constantinople, but ...

. As a reaction to these successes, the Directory convinced the Council of Five Hundred to annul the elections results in 53 departments, leading to almost 130 deputies losing their seats. These were then replaced by individuals chosen by the Directory.

References

22 Floreal Year VI, Law of 1798 in law 1798 in France Floreal 18th-century coups d'état and coup attempts French Directory {{France-stub