The 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 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 o ...

History

Under Napoleon's

Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

, the

Constitution of the Year VIII The Constitution of the Year VIII ( or ) 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 ...

(1799) set up a ''Corps législatif'' as the law-making body of the three-part government apparatus (alongside the

Tribunat The was one of the four assemblies set up in France by the Constitution of Year VIII (the other three were the Council of State (France), Council of State, the and the ). It was set up officially on 1 January 1800 at the same time as the . Its ...

and the

Sénat conservateur The (, "Conservative Senate") was an advisory body established in France during the French Consulate, Consulate following the French Revolution. It was established in 1799 under the Constitution of the Year VIII following the Napoleon Bonapa ...

). This body replaced 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 ...

, established by 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 ...

of the Directory period as the lower house of the French legislature, but its role consisted solely of voting on laws deliberated before the Tribunat. The

Constitution of the Year X The Constitution of the Year X () was a national constitution of France adopted during the Year X (10) on 16 Thermidor (4 August) of the French Revolutionary Calendar (1802 in the Gregorian calendar). It amended the Constitution of the Year VI ...

continued the corps' existence, but Napoleon grew more impatient with its slow deliberations and stripped it of much of its power in 1804. It was finally abolished by

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 ...

on 4 June 1814, to be replaced by the

Chambre des députés The Chamber of Deputies (, ) was the lower house of parliament in France at various times in the 19th and 20th centuries: * 1814–1848 during the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy, the Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the Fr ...

(though a Chambre des représentants was briefly set up during the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

). When

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

gained power, he re-constituted the Corps as France's lower chamber through the Constitution of 1852, with members elected by direct universal suffrage for terms of 6 years. The elections occurred in February 1852, June 1857, 31 May 1863 and May 1869. The elected corps législatif of the Second Empire shared its legislative powers with the executive ''Conseil d'État'', made up of functionaries, and the '' Sénat'', whose members were named for life. It was replaced by the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

in the Third Republic.

Historical composition

Second French Empire (1852–1870)

External links

1795 establishments in France 1814 disestablishments in France Defunct lower houses 1795 events of the French Revolution 1796 events of the French Revolution 1797 events of the French Revolution 1798 events of the French Revolution 1799 events of the French Revolution 1800s in France First French Empire French Consulate Historical legislatures in France {{France-hist-stub

History

Historical composition

Second French Empire (1852–1870)

See also

External links