The French Constituent Assembly of 1945 (''Assemblée constituante française de 1945''), also referred to as the First National Constituent Assembly, was a

Constituent assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

elected after the 1945 French legislative election to draft a draft Constitution to be approved by the French people via referendum. This referendum, held on May 5, 1946, resulted in the rejection of the proposal, prompting the organization of new elections for a Second Constituent Assembly of 1946.

Context

After the

Liberation of France The liberation of France () in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany in ...

in 1945, the provisional government led by Charles de Gaulle did not reinstate the 16th legislature of the French Third Republic. Instead, it organized

legislative elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

to establish a new Constituent Assembly, tasked with drafting a new constitution to ensure democratic representation and legitimacy in the institutions of a new Republic. On July 16, 1945, the

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

presented a draft ordinance to the

Provisional Consultative Assembly The Provisional Consultative Assembly (, ) was a governmental organ of Free France that operated under the aegis of the French Committee of National Liberation (CFLN) and that represented the resistance movements, political parties, and ter ...

proposing a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

.Marcel Morabito, ''Histoire constitutionnelle de la France (1789-1958)'', Montchrestien, Paris, 2004, 8th ed., p. 372. The Consultative Assembly opposed this plan due to its reliance on a

and the limited powers granted to the new

. Despite opposition, the government issued an ordinance on August 17, 1945, organizing a

in October. As stipulated, the Provisional Consultative Assembly dissolved with the electoral process for the Constituent Assembly underway. Until the office of the President of the French Republic was reinstated, the head of the provisional government effectively acted as head of state.

Referendum and elections of October 21, 1945

On October 21, 1945, the

conducted a dual

on the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

's formation and organized

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

. Women and soldiers voted for the first time in the referendum and Assembly elections, with deputies elected for a limited term of seven months. The referendum's first question asked: "Do you want the National Assembly elected today to be constituent?" *If "yes" prevailed, the Assembly would draft a new Constitution to establish a new Republic. *If "no" prevailed, the Assembly would reestablish the 1875 Constitution and the Third Republic, constituting the 17th legislature of the Third Republic. Blaming the 16th legislature for the June 1940 humiliation, 96% of voters approved the "yes" option. The second question asked whether the Assembly's powers should be limited by a provisional constitutional framework proposed by the government or unlimited, allowing the Assembly to independently organize public powers. Two-thirds of voters endorsed limiting the Assembly's powers, leading to the Provisional Constitutional Law of November 2, 1945.

Composition of the Constituent Assembly

The

on October 21, 1945, resulted in a strong victory for the left-wing, highlighting three main parties forming the "Tripartisme" coalition: *The

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

(PCF), highly regarded for its role in the Resistance and Soviet victory, secured 26% of the vote and 160 seats. This ended the first government of Charles de Gaulle on November 2, 1945, as the PCF claimed significant government influence. *The

Popular Republican Movement The Popular Republican Movement (, MRP) was a Christian-democratic political party in France during the Fourth Republic. Its base was the Catholic vote and its leaders included Georges Bidault, Robert Schuman, Paul Coste-Floret, Pierre-Henr ...

(MRP), a Christian democratic party supported by de Gaulle. *The

French Section of the Workers' International The French Section of the Workers' International (, SFIO) was a major socialist political party in France which was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the present Socialist Party. The SFIO was founded in 1905 as the French representativ ...

(SFIO). Other political outcomes: *The Radical Party, dominant during the Third Republic, suffered catastrophic results. *The right-wing, discredited by collaboration with

Pierre Laval Pierre Jean Marie Laval (; 28 June 1883 – 15 October 1945) was a French politician. He served as Prime Minister of France three times: 1931–1932 and 1935–1936 during the Third Republic (France), Third Republic, and 1942–1944 during Vich ...

, lost two-thirds of its electorate. The left held an absolute majority, with

Félix Gouin Félix Gouin (; 5 October 1884 – 25 October 1977) was a French Socialist politician who was a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO). Personal life Félix Gouin was born in Peypin, Bouches-du-Rhône, the son of ...

serving as Assembly President. Women constituted 5.6% of the deputies.Magazine '' Le Monde 2'', April 18-19, 2004, p. 89.

Parliamentary groups

The distribution of deputies by parliamentary group as of November 23, 1945, was as follows:

Promulgation of the Provisional Constitutional Law

On November 2, 1945, the government of Charles de Gaulle promulgated the Provisional Constitutional Law and dissolved itself pending the formation of the

to elect a new government leader and adopt a new Constitution. De Gaulle resigned on January 20, 1946, opposing the "regime of parties."

Works

Under Charles de Gaulle's government

The

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with p ...

of the

Banque de France The Bank of France ( ) is the national central bank for France within the Eurosystem. It was the French central bank between 1800 and 1998, issuing the French franc. It does not translate its name to English, and thus calls itself ''Banque de ...

and four major French banks occurred swiftly, avoiding speculation. The bill was submitted on November 30, 1945, and passed by December 2, 1945.

Under Félix Gouin's government

Key achievements included: *Nationalization of EDF and GDF (April 8, 1946). *Abolition of regulated

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

(April 13, 1946). *Abolition of

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

(April 11, 1946).

Dissolution

After the constitution was rejected, the Assembly and Gouin Government were dissolved. New elections were held on June 2, 1946, to form a Second Constituent Assembly of 1946.

References

{{reflist French Fourth Republic Constituent assemblies 1945 in France 1946 in France Historical legislatures in France Provisional government of the French Republic