1802 French constitutional referendum

1802 French constitutional referendum

10 May 1802 (1802-05-10)
Do you approve the bill authorising the ratification of the treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe?
Results
Choice Votes  % Yes 3,653,600 99.77% No 8,374 0.23% Valid votes 3,661,974 100.00% Invalid or blank votes 0 0.00% Total votes 3,661,974 100.00%

A referendum ratifying the new constitution of the Consulate, which made Napoleon Bonaparte First Consul for life, was held on 10 May 1802. The question asked to the voters was: "Should Napoleon Bonaparte be consul for life?". ^[1] Out of an electorate of 7 million, 3,653,600 voted in favor, and 8,374 voted against. ^[2]

There was no secret ballot, with voters having to record their vote next to their name in registers of votes, thus forcing the opponents of Bonaparte to register themselves and to face potential police harassment. ^[1] Nevertheless, turnout increased by over 8 percentage points compared to the 1800 French constitutional referendum, with an additional 2.1 million voters voting yes at the ballot. ^{[1] [3]} Given the turnout, the 1802 referendum is regarded as a success for the Napoleonic regime. ^[4]

Registry from Baix, Ardeche, about the 1802 referendum asking the question : "Will Napoleon Bonaparte be first consul for life ?"

Vote	% of votes	Votes
Yes	99.77%	3,653,600
No	0.23%	8,374
Total	100%

No : 8,374(0.23%)			Yes : 3,653,600(99.77%)
▲

References

1. Lyons, Martyn (28 June 1994). Napoleon Bonaparte and the Legacy of the French Revolution. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 112–113. ISBN   978-1-349-23436-3.
2. Bertaud, Jean-Paul (2021), "Chapitre 3. La marche à l'Empire (1802-1804)", Le Consulat et l'Empire, Cursus (in French), vol. 3e éd., Paris: Armand Colin, pp. 47–60, ISBN   978-2-200-63065-2 , retrieved 17 February 2024
3. Qvortrup, Matt (16 March 2020). Nationalism, Referendums and Democracy: Voting on Ethnic Issues and Independence. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-000-04493-5.
4. Bourguet-Rouveyre, Josiane (1 December 2006). "La survivance d'un système électoral sous le Consulat et l'Empire" . Annales historiques de la Révolution française (in French) (346): 17–29. doi:10.4000/ahrf.7473. ISSN   0003-4436.