Legislative elections were held in France between 12 and 21 October 1795 (20 to 29 Vendémiaire, Year IV) to elect one-third of the members of the

Council of Five Hundred 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 French Directory, Directory () period of t ...

and the Council of Ancients, the lower and upper houses of the legislature. The elections were held in accordance with the

Constitution of the Year III The Constitution of the Year III () was the constitution of the French First Republic that established the Directory. Adopted by the convention on 5 Fructidor Year III (22 August 1795) and approved by plebiscite on 6 September. Its preamble is ...

and the first under the

French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate; ) was the system of government established by the Constitution of the Year III, French Constitution of 1795. It takes its name from the committee of 5 men vested with executive power. The Directory gov ...

Background

During the summer of 1795, following the

Thermidorian Reaction In the historiography of the French Revolution, the Thermidorian Reaction ( or ''Convention thermidorienne'', "Thermidorian Convention") is the common term for the period between the ousting of Maximilien Robespierre on 9 Thermidor II, or 27 J ...

, members of the National Assembly began working on a new constitution that would not favour any certain party or group, while providing more support to centrists and moderates (later becoming

the Plain The Plain (), also known as the Marsh (), was the majority of independent deputies in the National Convention during the French Revolution. They were the most moderate and the most numerous group (around 400 deputies) of the National Conventio ...

) and avoiding any extreme use of power seen during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre ferv ...

. Under the

, the Directory (''Directoire'') was established, which was a mix of the two former constitutions (1791 and 1793). The Directory was split into two branches (upper house, the Council of Ancients made up of independent senior politicians; and the lower house, the

, which was elected by land owning tax paying men), with a third executive (the Directory Body). The new system is seen by many historians as imitating the British parliamentary system, while expanding on what is now known as the French system of a separate executive and assembly, which work in conjunction (this being a mix of parliamentary and presidential known as semi-presidentialism). With the approaching election, the Royalists (known collectively as the Monarchists) hope to take advantage of the elections and see a return to the monarchy and campaign together in many regions. Fearing a monarchist outcome, the Republicans (

Jacobins The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential List of polit ...

Thermidorians The Thermidorians (, named after Thermidor, the month of Thermidor) were a political group during the First French Republic. They formed in 1794 and dominated the last year of the National Convention, which during this phase became known as the T ...

, and the Montagnards) passed a law, known as the two-thirds decree, which saw each of houses of the directory contain those many members from the convention. Following the 13 Vendémiaire royalist insurrection, the two-thirds principle became a hated law by members of the royalist and anti-radical parties.

Results

1795 began seeing a large swing in support of constitutional royalists, now known as Clichyens, named after the

Clichy Club The Clichy Club () was a political group active during the French Revolution from 1794 to 1797. History During the French Revolution, the Clichy Club formed in 1794 following the fall of Maximilien Robespierre, 9 Thermidor an II (27 July 1794). ...

, especially following the

and failures of the government of the

French Constitution of 1793 The Constitution of 1793 (), also known as the Constitution of the Year I or the Montagnard Constitution, was the second constitution ratified for use during the French Revolution under the First Republic. Designed by the Montagnards, princip ...

. Although the Royalists disagreed on who they would want to see as the proper pretender to the throne, they in fact agreed that legally being elected would be the only means which they would re-establish the monarchy; they would then call for the dissolution of the Directory but see the recreation of the

French Constitution of 1791 The French Constitution of 1791 () was the first written constitution in France, created after the collapse of the absolute monarchy of the . One of the basic precepts of the French Revolution was adopting constitutionality and establishing po ...

with a new National Assembly. The Royalists were also divided on the future, with the Absolutists (later known as the Ultra-Royalists) preferring a return to the absolute ''

ancien régime ''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 {{disambig ...

'' under Louis, Count of Provence (future

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

), and supported the now two-year old Quiberon expedition. The Constitutionalists (later represented by the

Orléanist Orléanist () was a 19th-century French political label originally used by those who supported a constitutional monarchy expressed by the House of Orléans. Due to the radical political changes that occurred during France in the long nineteenth ...

s and known as the Liberals or

Doctrinaires During the Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830) and the July Monarchy (1830–1848), the Doctrinals () were a group of Monarchism in France, French royalists who hoped to reconcile the monarchy with the French Revoluti ...

) favoured a constitutional monarchy supporting individual rights and property in addition to freedoms and fair elections. The constitutionalists later began meeting at the Clichy Club, hence the new name, in addition to their nickname, the Clichyens.

References

Works cited

* * * {{French elections

Legislative A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers ...

1795 events of the French Revolution 18th-century elections in France French Directory Legislative elections in France