Constitution of France - Past Constitutions

Past Constitutions

France has had numerous past constitutions.

• The ancien régime was an absolute monarchy and lacked a formal constitution; the régime essentially relied on custom.

• The Revolutionary Era saw a number of constitutions:
  • The Constitution of 1791, adopted 3 September 1791, established the Kingdom of the French, a constitutional monarchy, and the Legislative Assembly
  • The Girondin constitutional project in process of being adopted before the coup that lead to the Montagnard faction being in control
  • The Constitution of 1793, ratified 24 June 1793, was ratified but never applied due to the suspension of all ordinary legality 10 October 1793 (under the French First Republic)
  • The Constitution of 1795, adopted 22 August 1795, established the Directory
  • The Constitution of the Year VIII, adopted 24 December 1799, established the Consulate
  • The Constitution of the Year X, adopted 1 August 1802, established the Consulate for Life
  • The Constitution of the Year XII, adopted 18 May 1804, established the First French Empire
• Following the restoration of the Monarchy
  • The Charter of 1814, adopted 4 June 1814, established the Bourbon Restoration
  • The Charter of 1815, adopted 22 April 1815, was used during the Hundred Days
  • The Charter of 1830, adopted 14 August 1830, established the July Monarchy
• 19th century
  • The French Constitution of 1848, adopted 4 November 1848, established the French Second Republic
  • The French Constitution of 1852, adopted 14 January 1852, established the French Second Empire
  • The French Constitutional Laws of 1875 of the French Third Republic, 24 and 25 February, and 16 July 1875
• 20th Century
  • The French Constitutional Law of 1940, adopted 10 July 1940, established Vichy France
  • The French Constitutional Law of 1945, adopted 1945, established the Provisional Government of the French Republic
  • The French Constitution of 1946, adopted 27 October 1946, established the French Fourth Republic
  • The French Constitution of 1958, adopted 4 October 1958, established the French Fifth Republic, current Constitution in force