14-The establishment of the Directory

The Constitution of the Directory

  • Origins and Implementation:

    • Drawn up by Thermidorians in August 1795.

    • Ratified by plebiscite in September 1795 and enacted in November 1795.

    • Reflected a desire for stability and moderation.

    • Decreed that two-thirds of places in the Council of 500 and the Council of Ancients would go to existing deputies from the Convention.

  • Structure:

    • Council of 500:

      • Composed of deputies over the age of 30.

      • Responsible for proposing and drafting all legislation, though they did not vote on it.

    • Council of Ancients:

      • Comprised 250 married or widowed men over 40.

      • Examined, approved, or rejected legislation but could not propose it.

    • Directory of Five:

      • Executive body composed of five Directors chosen by the Ancients from a list provided by the 500.

      • Directors appointed ministers but could not sit in the Councils.

      • One Director, chosen by lot, retired annually.

  • Electoral System:

    • Annual elections, with one-third of deputies stepping down each year.

    • Voters: Male taxpayers over 21, approximately 5.5 million out of 8 million adult males.

    • Electors: Wealthy taxpayers (about 1 million eligible), with 30,000 qualified to sit in assemblies.

  • Notable Directors:

    • Lazare Carnot: Key figure in organizing war efforts, spared exile after Thermidor.

    • Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès: Elected in 1795, served in 1799.

    • Pierre-Roger Ducos: Moderate, avoided prominence during the Terror.

    • Paul Barras: Suppressed counter-revolutionary activity; served throughout the period.

Financial and Political Problems and Policies

  • Economic Challenges:

    • Severe inflation following Thermidorians’ shift to a liberal economic policy.

    • By the end of 1795, assignats were worthless.

    • Budget deficits worsened by war costs and inefficient tax collection.

    • Food shortages exacerbated by poor harvests (1795) and grain speculators.

    • Trade disrupted by British naval blockades and restricted colonial trade.

  • Financial Reforms:

    • Transition from paper to metal currency:

      • Mandats introduced in February 1796 to replace assignats (800 million francs of mandats issued to replace 24 billion assignats).

      • Rapid counterfeiting rendered mandats worthless within a year; withdrawn.

      • Metal currency became the sole legal tender, halting inflation but causing deflation, which hindered trade.

    • Taxation reforms (1798) by Finance Minister Ramel:

      • Improved efficiency in tax assessment and collection.

      • Introduced new property taxes (e.g., on doors and windows) to address deficits.

    • Standardization of weights and measures (1795), aiding long-term economic stability.

    • Better harvests in 1796 and 1798 reduced grain prices.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Directory

  • Strengths:

    • Aimed to prevent concentration of power by dispersing authority across five Directors.

    • Reforms like the standardization of weights and measures and tax improvements had lasting benefits.

    • Efforts to stabilize currency laid groundwork for the Bank of France (established under Napoleon in 1800).

  • Weaknesses:

    • Lack of clear leadership due to the avoidance of dominant figures.

    • Internal divisions among Directors, leading to difficulties in decision-making:

      • Schism between moderate conservatives (e.g., Carnot, Letourneur) and republicans (e.g., Barras, Rewbell, Revelliere-Lepaux).

    • No mechanism to resolve disputes between the executive and legislative bodies.

    • Increasing reliance on underhanded tactics to manipulate electoral outcomes.

  • Political Instability:

    • Coup of Fructidor (4 September 1797):

      • Royalist gains in elections prompted a plot to prevent further monarchist influence.

      • Barras, Rewbell, and Revelliere-Lepaux used military support to arrest 177 royalist deputies and forced Carnot and Barthélemy to resign.

      • New anti-royalist laws targeted émigrés and refractory priests.

    • Coup of Floreal (11 May 1798):

      • New electoral laws passed to reduce royalist influence; Jacobins gained ground.

      • Law of 22 Floreal purged 127 deputies.

    • Coup of Prairial (18 June 1798):

      • Directors Revelliere-Lepaux and Douai forced to resign under Sieyès’ influence, backed by military support.

    • Coup of Brumaire (November 1799):

      • Final blow to the Directory, leading to its collapse and the establishment of the Consulate under Napoleon.