French Parliament - History

History

The French Parliament, as a legislative body, should not confused with the various parlements of the Ancien Régime in France, which were courts of justice and tribunals with certain political functions varying from province to province and as to whether the local law was written and Roman, or customary common law.

The word "Parliament", in the modern meaning of the term, appeared in France in the 19th century, at the time of the constitutional monarchy of 1830–1848. It is never mentioned in any constitutional text until the Constitution of the 4th Republic in 1948. Before that time reference was made to "les Chambres" or to each assembly, whatever its name, but never to a generic term as in Britain. Its form – unicameral, bicameral, or multicameral – and its functions have taken different forms throughout the different political regimes and according to the various French constitutions:

Date Constitution Upper chamber Lower chamber Other chamber Joint sitting Single chamber
1791 French Constitution of 1791 Assemblée Nationale
1793 French Constitution of 1793 Corps législatif
1795–1799 French Constitution of 1795 Conseil des Anciens Conseil des Cinq-Cents
1799–1802 Constitution of the Year VIII Sénat Corps législatif Tribunat
1802–1804 Constitution of the Year X Sénat Corps législatif Tribunat
1804–1814 Constitution of the Year XII Sénat Corps législatif
1814–1815 Charter of 1814 Chamber of Peers Chambre des députés des départements
1815 Additional Act to the Constitutions of the Empire Chamber of Peers Chamber of Representatives
1830–1848 Charter of 1830 Chamber of Peers Chamber of Deputies
1848–1852 French Constitution of 1848 Assemblée Nationale
1852–1870 French Constitution of 1852 Sénat Corps législatif
1871–1875 Assemblée Nationale
1875–1940 French Constitutional Laws of 1875 Sénat Chamber of Deputies Assemblée Nationale
1940–1944 French Constitutional Law of 1940
1944–1946 Provisional Government of the French Republic Assemblée Nationale
1946–1958 French Constitution of 1946 Conseil de la République Assemblée Nationale Parliament
since 1958 French Constitution of 1958 Sénat Assemblée Nationale Parlement réuni en Congrès

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