Simone Lawson
France has had many constitutions throughout its history, with the current one being adopted on October 4, 1958, establishing the Fifth Republic. The country's constitutional history has seen experimentation with various political regime types, evolving from an absolute monarchy under the Ancien Régime to a parliamentary monarchy with the Constitution of 1791, which was created after the French Revolution. This constitution, drafted by the National Assembly, retained the monarchy while vesting sovereignty in the Legislative Assembly. It was the first written constitution in France and included the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which was adopted in 1789.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of the first written constitution in France | 1791 |
| Date of adoption of the first written constitution | 3 September 1791 |
| Date of adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen | 26 August 1789 |
| Date of convening of the Constitutional Committee | 14 July 1789 |
| Date of abolition of feudalism | 4-5 August 1789 |
| Date of rejection of bicameral legislature | 10 September 1789 |
| Date of acceptance of the constitution by King Louis XVI | September 1791 |
| Date of the insurrection that ended the constitutional monarchy | 10 August (no year given) |
| Date the convention declared France a republic | 22 September 1792 |
| Duration of the Constitution of 1791 | Less than a year |
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What You'll Learn
The French Constitution of 1791
France had no written constitution prior to 1789, instead relying on the custom of the absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime. However, the French Constitution of 1791 (French: Constitution française du 3 septembre 1791) was the first written constitution in France, created after the collapse of the absolute monarchy.
The National Assembly, which had emerged from the Estates General of 1789, began the process of drafting a constitution as its primary objective. The Assembly delegated the task of drafting the constitution to a special twelve-member Constitutional Committee, convened on 14 July 1789. The committee's job was made difficult by the many proposals for redefining the French state that were being floated at the time. The Marquis de Lafayette, for instance, proposed a combination of the American and British systems, introducing a bicameral parliament with the king having suspensive veto power over the legislature, modelled on the authority of the President of the United States.
The main controversies early on surrounded the issues of what level of power to be granted to the king of France (veto, suspensive or absolute) and what form the legislature would take (unicameral or bicameral). The Constitutional Committee proposed a bicameral legislature, but the motion was defeated on 10 September 1789 in favour of a unicameral (one house) legislature. The next day, they proposed an absolute veto, but were again defeated in favour of a suspensive veto, which could be overridden by three consecutive legislatures.
The Constitution of 1791 was passed in September 1791 and redefined the organisation of the French government, citizenship, and the limits to the powers of government. It abolished many “institutions which were injurious to liberty and equality of rights”. The National Assembly asserted its legal presence in French government by establishing its permanence in the Constitution and forming a system for recurring elections. The Assembly's belief in a sovereign nation and in equal representation can be seen in the constitutional separation of powers. The National Assembly was the legislative body, the king and royal ministers made up the executive branch, and the judiciary was independent of the other two branches. On a local level, the previous feudal geographic divisions were formally abolished, and the territory of the French state was divided into several administrative units.
The Constitution amended Louis XVI’s title from ‘King of France’ to ‘King of the French’, implying that the king’s power emanated from the people and the law, not from divine right or national sovereignty. The king retained the right to form a cabinet and to select and appoint ministers, and was granted a suspensive veto to balance out the interests of the people. However, this representative democracy also weakened the king’s executive authority. The constitution was not egalitarian by today's standards, as it distinguished between "active citizens" with political rights, and "passive citizens" with only civil rights. Women lacked rights to liberties such as education, freedom to speak, write, print and worship.
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The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
France did not have a formal constitution in 1789. The country was under the Ancien Régime, an absolute monarchy that relied on custom.
However, the same year, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was adopted on 26 August 1789. This declaration, inspired by the Enlightenment and the American Declaration of Independence, became the preamble to the Constitution of 1791, France's first written constitution. The declaration was the first step toward writing a constitution for France.
The declaration also addressed the issue of powers granted to the king of France, with the National Assembly allowing him a suspensive veto to balance the interests of the people. However, this weakened the king's executive authority, and the constitution was not egalitarian by today's standards. It distinguished between propertied active citizens and poorer passive citizens, and women lacked liberties such as education, freedom to speak, write, print, and worship.
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The National Assembly
France did not have a formal constitution in 1789. The country was an absolute monarchy under the Ancien Régime, relying on custom. However, the National Assembly, formed in 1789, played a pivotal role in the French Revolution and the subsequent development of a constitution.
On 9 July 1789, the Assembly reconstituted itself as the National Constituent Assembly, requesting the removal of the king's troops. This was refused by King Louis XVI, who "offered" to move the assembly to a location between two armies, effectively isolating them from the support of the Parisian people. This prompted the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July, marking the next phase of the Revolution.
The National Constituent Assembly became the effective government of France, and it abolished feudalism and published the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen in August 1789. This declaration, which became the preamble of the eventual constitution, offered sweeping generalizations about rights, liberty, and sovereignty. A twelve-member Constitutional Committee was formed on 14 July 1789 to draft the articles of the constitution. The National Assembly, as constitution-framers, allowed the king a suspensive veto to balance the interests of the people, while representative democracy weakened the king's executive authority.
The Constitution of 1791, created after the collapse of the absolute monarchy, was the first written constitution in France. It established a parliamentary monarchy and was preceded by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, adopted on 26 August 1789.
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The National Convention
France had one written constitution in 1789, the French Constitution of 1791, which was created after the collapse of the absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, adopted on 26 August 1789, became the preamble of the constitution.
The Convention was dominated by struggles between two opposing Revolutionary factions: the Montagnards and the Girondins. The Montagnards favoured granting the poorer classes more political power, while the Girondins wanted to reduce the power of Paris and favoured a bourgeois republic. The Girondins were purged from the Convention by a popular insurrection in May-June 1793, and the Montagnards controlled the second phase of the Convention from June 1793 to July 1794. During this time, a revolutionary government with dictatorial powers was set up, and the democratic constitution approved by the Convention on 24 June 1793 was not implemented.
The final phase of the Convention, from July 1794 to October 1795, saw a reaction against the radical policies of the Montagnards, leading to their purge and the recall of the surviving Girondins. The Convention approved the constitution for the Directory, the regime that replaced it, on 28 July 1795. The National Convention also oversaw the Reign of Terror, a time of extreme violence and paranoia, which lasted from September 1793 until July 1794.
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The Constitutional Committee
France has had many constitutions throughout its history, with the current one being that of the Fifth Republic, established in 1958.
In 1789, France had no formal constitution, but the National Constituent Assembly, formed by the assembly of the Estates General, had the goal of drafting a new constitution. On 26 August 1789, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was adopted, which became the preamble of the French Constitution of 1791. This Declaration, inspired by the American Declaration of Independence and the Enlightenment, set out the "natural and inalienable" rights of freedom, ownership, security, and resistance to oppression, and recognised equality before the law and the justice system.
The main controversies at the time surrounded the level of power to be granted to the king and the form of the legislature. The Constitutional Committee proposed a bicameral legislature, but this was defeated in favour of a unicameral system. They also proposed an absolute veto for the king, but this was defeated in favour of a suspensive veto, which could be overridden by three consecutive legislatures.
A second Constitutional Committee quickly replaced the first, including three members from the original group and five new members, all from the Third Estate. This committee faced a critical question surrounding citizenship and whether every subject of the French Crown would be given equal rights.
The National Assembly, as the constitution-framer, allowed the king a suspensive veto to balance out the interests of the people, but this also weakened the king's executive authority. The Constitution of 1791 was not egalitarian by today's standards, as it distinguished between propertied active citizens and poorer passive citizens, and women lacked liberties such as education, freedom of speech, and freedom of worship.
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Frequently asked questions
France did not have a formal, written constitution in 1789. The Kingdom of France was an absolute monarchy under the Ancien Régime, and the regime relied on custom.
However, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, adopted on 26 August 1789, became the preamble of the French Constitution of 1791.
The French Constitution of 1791 was the first written constitution in France. It was created after the collapse of the absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime. The constitution established a parliamentary monarchy and retained the monarchy, but sovereignty effectively resided in the Legislative Assembly.
The constitution was drafted by the National Assembly, which was both a legislature and a constitutional convention. The Assembly wanted to reorganise the social structure and legalise itself. The constitution distinguished between "active citizens" who paid taxes and "passive citizens" who did not. It also gave the king a suspensive veto to balance out the interests of the people.
The French Constitution of 1791 lasted less than a year.
