Constitution of the Year VIII

Last updated

Constitution of the Year VIII
Constitution du 22 frimaire an VIII (13 decembre 1799). Page 3 - Archives Nationales - AE-I-29-4.jpg
The Constitution of the Year VIII (1799)
Original titleConstitution de l'an VIII
Created22 Frimaire, Year VIII (13 December 1799)
Presented24 Frimaire, Year VIII (15 December 1799)
Repealed 16 Thermidor, Year X (4 August 1802)
Location French National Archives
Author(s)Initially Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, later delegated to Daunou
SupersedesConstitution of 5 Fructidor, Year III (Constitution of the Directory)

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 established the form of government known as the Consulate. The coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799) had effectively given all power to Napoleon Bonaparte, and in the eyes of some, ended the French Revolution.

Contents

After the coup, Napoleon and his allies legitimized his position by crafting a Constitution that would be, in the words of Napoleon, "short and obscure". [1] [2] The constitution tailor-made the position of First Consul to give Napoleon most of the powers of a dictator. It was the first constitution since the 1789 Revolution without a Declaration of Rights.

The document vested executive power in three Consuls, but all actual power was held by the First Consul, Bonaparte. This differed from Robespierre's republic of c.1792 to 1795 (which was more radical), and from the oligarchic liberal republic of the Directory (1795–1799). More than anything, the Consulat resembled the autocratic Roman Republic of Caesar Augustus, a conservative republic-in-name, which reminded the French of stability, order, and peace. [3] It has been called a regime of "modern Caesarism". [4] [5] To emphasize this, the authors of the constitutional document used classical Roman terms, such as "Consul", "Senator" and "Tribune".

The Constitution of Year VIII established a legislature of three houses, which was composed of a Conservative Senate of 80 men over the age of 40, a Tribunate of 100 men over the age of 25, and a Legislative Body (Corps législatif) of 300 men over 30 years old.

The Constitution also used the term "notables". The word "notables" had been in common usage under the monarchy. It referred to prominent, "distinguished" men — landholders, merchants, scholars, professionals, clergymen and officials. [6] The people in each district chose a slate of "notables" by popular vote. The First Consul, the Tribunate, and the Corps Législatif each nominated one Senatorial candidate to the rest of the Senate, which chose one candidate from among the three. Once all of its members were picked, it would then appoint the Tribunate, the Corps Législatif, the judges of cassation, and the commissioners of accounts from the National List of notables. [7]

Napoleon held a plebiscite on the Constitution on 7 February 1800. The vote was not binding, but it allowed Napoleon to maintain a veneer of democracy. Lucien Bonaparte announced results of 3,011,007 in favor and 1,562 against the new dispensation. The true result was probably around 1.55 million for it, with several thousand against it. [8]

This Constitution was amended, firstly, by the Constitution of the Year X, which made Napoleon First Consul for Life. A more extensive alteration, the Constitution of the Year XII, established the Bonaparte dynasty with Napoleon as a hereditary Emperor. The first, brief Bourbon Restoration of 1814 abolished the Napoleonic constitutional system, but the Emperor revived it and at once virtually replaced it with the so-called "Additional Act" of April 1815, promulgated on his return to power. The return of Louis XVIII in July 1815 (following the Hundred Days) saw the definitive abolition of Napoleon's constitutional arrangements. The Napoleonic constitutions were completely replaced by the Bourbon Charter of 1814.

Background and Adoption

Napoleon Bonaparte during the coup d'etat of 18 Brumaire in Saint-Cloud, painting by Francois Bouchot Bouchot - Le general Bonaparte au Conseil des Cinq-Cents.jpg
Napoleon Bonaparte during the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire in Saint-Cloud, painting by François Bouchot

Following the refusal of the Council of Five Hundred to revise the Constitution of the Year III, Napoleon Bonaparte conducted a coup d'État on the 18th Brumaire of year VIII (9 November 1799) and took control of the government alongside the Abbot Sieyès and Roger Ducos, establishing a provisional consulate. [9]

Napoléon proceeded to compose, alongside Sieyès, a new constitution aiming to assure a strong executive power, concentrated in Napoleon's hands. [10] The assemblies designated a commission each for the preparation of a new constitution. Multiple sessions took place before Napoleon interfered to accelerate the process. [10]

The Constitution of the Year VIII was composed in 11 days, [11] principally by Pierre Claude François Daunou, who belonged to the Society of Ideologues (liberal republicans hostile to Jacobinism) and had had a significant role in writing the Constitution of the Year III. [12] It was adopted on 13 December 1799, under pretext of emergency, before being ratified by a plebiscite which took place for 15 days, the official results of which were made public 7 February 1800.

Officially, the Constitution was approved by 3,011,107 citizens against 1,562 opposants, [13] from a base of around 6 million voters registered in electoral lists. French historian Claude Langlois demonstrated in 1972 that the results of this plebiscite had been massively falsified by Napoleon's brother Lucien Bonaparte. [14] [15]

New Constitutional Order

The Constitution of the Year VIII marks a break with the preceding constitutions- it allows Napoleon to exercise a personal power [16] all the while maintaining an illusion of democracy. The text is very technical, and defines mainly the powers of the First Consul.

Unlike the preceding Republican Constitutions, the Constitution of the Year VIII does not feature a declaration of rights and freedoms. [17] However, some rights are affirmed in general terms, such as the inviolability of the home, personal safety, and the right to petition.

The Constitution establishes universal masculine suffrage, but the electoral system does not allow a real expression of the citizens; in effect, elections are removed, with citizen unable to elect representants but limited to create "Lists of Confidence (or notability)". [18] These were lists of candidates from which membres of the Assemblies, consuls, and functionaries are names or elected by the government or the Senate.

This universal suffrage is indirect, and proceeds in three stages:

  1. The voters of each canton designate a tenth of them to constitute the district list. This list makes it possible to choose the public servants of the arrondissement. These members designate another tenth of them to constitute the departmental list.
  2. This departmental list makes it possible to choose the officials of the department. These members designate another tenth of them to constitute the national list.
  3. The national list makes it possible to choose national civil servants including members of the Legislative Body and the Tribunate.

In addition, the length of stay required of a foreigner to claim French citizenship increases: it is no longer seven years but ten years, or twice as long as the period provided for by the Legislative Assembly in 1791. [19]

The Constitution appears "tailored" to Napoleon, to the point that he is designated explicitly and by name as the First Consul, highly unusual for a constitutional text, [20] which is by definition destined to be permanently applicable. The designation by name of five citizens (Napoleon, Cambacérès, Lebrun, Sieyès, and Ducos) [21] limits the applicability of the text to the lifetimes of the Consuls.

The Consulate is composed of three Consuls, but contrary to the Directory, the Second and Third Consuls only had a consultative power.

The powers of the First Consul are considerable. He names the main civil servants and has the right of initiative. Additionally, he is given significant powers in diplomacy and military affairs.

Organs of Executive Power

Consulate

The three Consuls of the Year VIII: Cambaceres, Napoleon, and Lebrun. Cambaceres, Bonaparte et Lebrun membres du consulat en 1799.jpg
The three Consuls of the Year VIII: Cambacérès, Napoleon, and Lebrun.

The executive power, weakened during the Revolution, now holds the real political power, aided by the advisory role of the then newly-established Conseil d'État (Council of State). Executive power is wielded by the Consulate. Three Consuls are named for ten years and indefinitely re-electable by the Senate. [21] The Second and Third Consul only being able to make their opinion known, executive power now effectively belongs to the First Consul, who also has a large amount of legislative power. He proposes and promulgates laws, names and revokes ministers and civil servants, and has no political responsibility. [22]

The first three consuls designated by the Constitution of Year VIII are Napoléon Bonaparte, Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès, and Charles-François Lebrun. [23]

The legislature is now weakened by its division in three assemblies: the Conservative Senate, the Tribunate, and the Legislative Body. [24]

Installation of the Council of State at the Petit-Luxembourg, 25 December 1799, an 1856 painting by Auguste Couder. Couder - Installation du Conseil d'Etat.jpg
Installation of the Council of State at the Petit-Luxembourg, 25 December 1799, an 1856 painting by Auguste Couder.

Council of State

The Council of State (French: Conseil d'État) was established by the article 52 of the Constitution of the Year VIII. [25] This council was designed as an instrument at the service of the executive, [26] given various functions for this end: from the drafting of laws to the control of the administration, consisting of resolving disputes that arise in administrative matters, particularly between citizens and the State.

It consisted of between 30 and 50 members, appointed by the First Consul. [27]

Organs of Legislative Power

In an effort to weaken the legislative power, [28] it was divided into three organs: two assemblies, [29] the Tribunate (French: Tribunat) and the Legislative Body (Corps législatif), and the Conservative Senate (Sénat conservateur).

Tribunate

Composed of 100 men over the age of 25 selected by the Senate from the lists of Notability, [30] the Tribunate had the role of discussing laws proposed by the Government. The Tribunate could express its opinion on laws made or to be made, on possible corrections, or improvements to be made in all areas of public administration. [21] The Tribunate then designated three speakers who would defend its position before the Legislative Body.

Legislative Body

The Legislative Body was composed of 300 members over the age of 30, [31] selected likewise by the Senate from national lists of notability. It was tasked with voting on the laws discussed by the Tribunate, without being able to modify or discuss them. For this reason, it was sometimes facetiously called the "mute assembly". [32] The Legislative Body then voted for or against the Tribunate's proposal. If adopted, the bill became a "decretal" (French: Décret) of the Legislative Body, able to be promulgated as law.

Conservative Senate

The Sénat conservateur comprised 80 members made over the age of 40. [33] This figure of 80 members was to be reached gradually; 60 members were appointed in the Year VIII, to which were to be added two additional members each year, for ten years. [34] The Constitution of the Year VIII explicitly named Sieyès and Roger-Ducos, outgoing Second and Third Consuls, as ex officio members of the Senate. They were tasked with appointing the majority of the Senate, in consultation with Cambacérès and Lebrun, the new Second and Third Consuls. [35]

Unlike the Tribunate and the Legislative Body, had no role in the legislative process. However, it had significant power over the two assemblies, in elective and constitutional matters. [36]

The Senate, presided by Napoleon himself, names the members of the two assemblies. [21] Its other mission was to ensure the constitutionality of laws; as the "conservator of the Constitution" (from which it gets its name), it could block the promulgation of a text voted by the Legislative Body. [37] [38]

Sources

Connelly, Owen (2000). The French Revolution and Napoleonic Era. 3rd Edition. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt. pp. 201–203.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès</span> French Roman Catholic abbé and political writer (1748–1836)

Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, usually known as the Abbé Sieyès, was a French Roman Catholic abbé, clergyman, and political writer who was the chief political theorist of the French Revolution (1789–1799); he also held offices in the governments of the French Consulate (1799–1804) and the First French Empire (1804–1815). His pamphlet What Is the Third Estate? (1789) became the political manifesto of the Revolution, which facilitated transforming the Estates-General into the National Assembly, in June 1789. He was offered and refused an office in the French Directory (1795–1799). After becoming a director in 1799, Sieyès was among the instigators of the Coup of 18 Brumaire, which installed Napoleon Bonaparte in power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French Consulate</span> Government of France from 1799 to 1804

The Consulate was the top-level government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799 until the start of the French Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term The Consulate also refers to this period of French history.

This glossary of the French Revolution generally does not explicate names of individual people or their political associations; those can be found in List of people associated with the French Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coup of 18 Brumaire</span> 1799 coup in Revolutionary France that brought Napoleon to power

The Coup 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 would soon lead to the coronation of Napoleon as emperor. This bloodless coup d'état overthrew the Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate. This occurred on 9 November 1799, which was 18 Brumaire, Year VIII under the short-lived French Republican calendar system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council of Five Hundred</span> Lower house of the Directory-era French Republic

The Council of Five Hundred was the lower house of the legislature of the French First Republic under the Constitution of the Year III. It operated from 31 October 1795 to 9 November 1799 during the Directory period of the French Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitution of the Year III</span> Supreme law of the French Republic during the Directory period

The Constitution of the Year III was the constitution of the French First Republic that established the Executive Directory. Adopted by the convention on 5 Fructidor Year III and approved by plebiscite on 6 September. Its preamble is the Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and of the Citizen of 1789.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Louis Roederer</span> French politician, economist, and historian

Comte Pierre Louis Roederer was a French politician, economist, and historian, politically active in the era of the French Revolution and First French Republic. Roederer's son, Baron Antoine Marie Roederer (1782–1865), also became a noted political figure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitutional Council (France)</span> National constitutional ruling body of the French Republic

The Constitutional Council is the highest constitutional authority in France. It was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958 to ensure that constitutional principles and rules are upheld. It is housed in the Palais-Royal in Paris. Its main activity is to rule on whether proposed statutes conform with the Constitution, after they have been voted by Parliament and before they are signed into law by the President of the Republic, or passed by the government as a decree, which has law status in many domains, a right granted to the government under delegation of Parliament.

The Tribunat was one of the four assemblies set up in France by the Constitution of Year VIII. It was set up officially on 1 January 1800 at the same time as the Corps législatif. Its first president was the historian Pierre Daunou, whose independent spirit led to his dismissal from the post by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802. The Tribunat assumed some of the functions of the Council of Five Hundred, but its role consisted only of deliberating projected laws before their adoption by the Corps législatif, with the legislative initiative remaining with the Council of State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corps législatif</span> Legislative body in Napoleonic France

The Corps législatif was a part of the French legislature during the French Revolution and beyond. It is also the generic French term used to refer to any legislative body.

The Coup of 30 Prairial Year VII, also known as the Revenge of the Councils was a bloodless coup in France that occurred on 18 June 1799—30 Prairial Year VII by the French Republican Calendar. It left Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès as the dominant figure of the French government, and prefigured the coup of 18 Brumaire that brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French Constitution of 1852</span> Governing law of France during the Second Empire

The French Constitution of 1852 was enacted on 14 January 1852 by Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte. Slightly modified later that year, on 25 December 1852 the constitution became the basis for the creation of the Second French Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sénat conservateur</span> Legislative body of Napoleonic France

The Sénat conservateur was an advisory body established in France during the Consulate following the French Revolution. It was established in 1799 under the Constitution of the Year VIII following the Napoleon Bonaparte-led Coup of 18 Brumaire. It lasted until 1814 when Napoleon Bonaparte was overthrown and the Bourbon monarchy was restored. The Sénat was a key element in Napoleon's regime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First French Empire</span> Empire in France from 1804 to 1815

The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire after 1809 and also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from 18 May 1804 to 3 May 1814 and again briefly from 20 March 1815 to 7 July 1815, when Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena.

A sénatus-consulte was a feature of French law during the French Consulate (1799–1804), First French Empire and Second French Empire (1852–1870).

<i>Acte de déchéance de lEmpereur</i> 1814 law deposing Napoleon I as Emperor of France

The Acte de déchéance de l'Empereur was a law passed by the Sénat conservateur on 2 April 1814, which deposed Napoleon I as Emperor of the French.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Joseph Mathieu Lambrechts</span> Belgian-born French lawyer, rector magnificus and government minister

Charles Joseph Mathieu Lambrechts was an Austrian Netherlands-born lawyer, rector magnificus of the University of Louvain, who became Minister of Justice of the French Republic, during the Directoire. Later he was a deputy from 1819 to 1824.

Gian Galeazzo Serbelloni was a Milanese nobleman, notable as president of the founding Directory of the Cisalpine Republic and as preceptor to the Milanese poet Giuseppe Parini.

Legislative elections were held in France between 8 and 22 May 1815 for the period of the Hundred Days. The elections were held to appoint deputies to the Chamber of Representatives established by the Additional Charter of 22 April 1815. The elections were the first since April 1799 and last of the 'republican system' until the Charter of 1830.

References

  1. ↑ Martin, J. (2021). « Bonaparte a été le fossoyeur de la Révolution. ». Dans : , J. Martin, Idées reçues sur la Révolution française (pp. 61-64). Paris: Le Cavalier Bleu.
  2. ↑ Crook, Malcolm (1999). "The Myth Of The 18 Brumaire". H-France Napoleon Forum. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2007.
  3. ↑ Basilien-Gainche, Marie-Laure (2013). État de droit et états d'exception (in French). Presses Universitaires de France. p. 45. doi:10.3917/puf.gain.2013.01. ISBN   978-2-13-058938-9.
  4. ↑ Gramsci, Antonio. « V. Machiavel, la politique, le prince moderne et les classes subalternes », , Guerre de mouvement et guerre de position. Textes choisis et présentés par Razmig Keucheyan, sous la direction de Gramsci Antonio. La Fabrique Éditions, 2012, pp. 159-269.
  5. ↑ Droit constitutionnel. Spécial Droit (3e éd ed.). Paris: Ellipses. 2022. p. 127. ISBN   978-2-340-06880-3.
  6. ↑ B., Collins, James (1995). The state in early modern France. Cambridge University Press. pp. xix. ISBN   0-521-38284-X. OCLC   31045245.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ "Constitution du 22 Frimaire An VIII" [Constitution of 22 Frimaire Year VIII]. Conseil Constitutionnel. Articles 19 and 20.
  8. ↑ Alexander, R. S. (2001). Napoleon. London: Arnold. p. 22. ISBN   0-340-71915-X. OCLC   46498013.
  9. ↑ Lefebvre, Georges (1964). The French Revolution. Vol. II: from 1793 to 1799. pp. 252–256.
  10. 1 2 Duverger, Maurice. « Les révolutions et la valse des constitutions », Maurice Duverger éd., Les constitutions de la France. Presses Universitaires de France, 2004, pp. 34-72.
  11. ↑ Broc, Katarzyna Gromek; Birkinshaw, Patrick, eds. (2023). Public law in a troubled era: a tribute to Professor Patrick Birkinshaw. European monographs series set. Alphen aan den Rijn Landisville, PA: Wolters Kluwer. ISBN   978-94-035-3576-0.
  12. ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica (in French) (11th ed.). Horace Everett Hooper. 1910–1911. pp. 849–850.
  13. ↑ Horn, J. (2002). Building the New Regime: Founding the Bonapartist State in the Department of the Aube. French Historical Studies, 25(2), 225–263.
  14. ↑ Alexander, Robert (6 February 2017). Napoleon. London: Arnold. p. 22. ISBN   0-340-71916-8
  15. ↑ Crook, Malcolm (1998). Napoleon Comes to Power: democracy and dictatorship in revolutionary France, 1795-1804. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. pp. 75–77. ISBN   0-7083-1401-5
  16. ↑ Menichetti, Johan (2013). "L'écriture de la constitution de l'An VIII : quelques réflexions sur l'échec d'un mécanisme révolutionnaire". Napoleonica (in French). 18 (3): 68–83. doi:10.3917/napo.133.0068. ISSN   2100-0123. He is especially criticized for favoring the concentration of powers around the figure of the First Consul, thus going against the primary meaning of the separation of powers
  17. ↑ Menichetti, Johan (2013). "L'écriture de la constitution de l'An VIII : quelques réflexions sur l'échec d'un mécanisme révolutionnaire". Napoleonica la Revue (in French). 18 (3): 68. doi:10.3917/napo.133.0068. ISSN   2100-0123. Ensuite, elle est la première constitution écrite à laquelle n'est pas associée une Déclaration des Droits. (In addition, it is the first constitution written to which is not affixed a declaration of rights)
  18. ↑ Quiviger, Pierre-Yves (13 December 2013). "Les listes de confiance". Revue Française d'Histoire des Idées Politiques. 38 (2): 231–240. doi:10.3917/rfhip.038.0231. ISSN   1266-7862.
  19. ↑ "Constitution of 1791". University of Santa Fe. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014.
  20. ↑ Ribner, Jonathan P. (1993). Broken Tablets. University of California Press. p. 36. The Napoleonic practice of inscribing Bonaparte's name in the constitution reflected this personalization of the law. Whereas the revolutionary constitutions had upheld Rousseau's insistence that law remain unsullied by particulars, the Constitution of Year VIII cited the three consuls by name, and the imperial Constitution of Year XII [...] specified the positions of Napoleon's heirs in the line of succession to the throne.
  21. 1 2 3 4 "Constitution du 22 Frimaire An VIII". Conseil Constitutionnel.
  22. ↑ Lentz, Thierry (2013). "Napoleon and his ministers". Napoleonica. La Revue. 1 (16): 88–113. doi:10.3917/napo.131.0088.
  23. ↑ "Constitution du 22 Frimaire An VIII". Conseil Constitutionnel.
  24. ↑ Ribner, Jonathan P. (1993). Broken Tablets. University of California Press. p. 37.
  25. ↑ "Constitution du 22 Frimaire An VIII" [Constitution of 22 Frimaire Year VIII]. Conseil Constitutionnel. Article 52. - Sous la direction des consuls, un Conseil d'État est chargé de rédiger les projets de lois et les règlements d'administration publique, et de résoudre les difficultés qui s'élèvent en matière administrative.[Article 52. - Under the direction of the consuls, a Council of State is responsible for drafting bills and public administration regulations, and for resolving difficulties that arise in administrative matters.]
  26. ↑ Chevallier, Jacques. « Le Conseil d'État, au cœur de l'État », Pouvoirs, vol. 123, no. 4, 2007, pp. 5-17.
  27. ↑ "Constitution du 22 Frimaire An VIII". Conseil Constitutionnel.
  28. ↑ "Histoire résumée de l'Assemblée nationale" [Summary of the History of the National Assembly]. Assemblée Nationale (in French).
  29. ↑ Thierry Lentz, Nouvelle histoire du Premier Empire, III. La France et l'Europe de Napoléon 1804-1814, éd. Fayard, 2007, p. 110-111.
  30. ↑ Article 27 of the Constitution of the Year VIII
  31. ↑ Article 31 of the Constitution of the Year VIII
  32. ↑ Jean-Antoine Chaptal, Mes souvenir sur Napoléon, 1898, p. 218.
  33. ↑ Article 15 of the Constitution of the Year VIII
  34. ↑ "1799-1814 : Le Sénat conservateur". Sénat.
  35. ↑ Article 24 of the Constitution of the Year VIII
  36. ↑ "Sous le Sénat de l'Empire..." [Under the Senate of the Empire]. senat.fr (in French).
  37. ↑ Article 37, Constitution of the Year VIII
  38. ↑ "Le Sénat Conservateur du Ier Empire" [The Conservative Senate of the First Empire]. sénat.fr. Le Sénat devait, par ailleurs, examiner les listes d'éligibles et les actes déférés à sa censure par le Tribunat ou par le gouvernement : il pouvait donc annuler avant leur promulgation les lois et actes du pouvoir exécutif qu'il jugeait inconstitutionnels.[The Senate had, moreover, to examine the lists of eligible persons and the acts referred to its censure by the Tribunate or by the government: it could therefore annul, before their promulgation, the laws and acts of the executive power which it deemed unconstitutional.]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.