Constitution of the Year VIII

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The Constitution of the Year VIII was a national constitution of France, adopted December 24, 1799 (during the Year VIII of the French Revolutionary Calendar), which established the form of government known as the Consulate. The coup of 18 Brumaire (November 9, 1799) effectively gave all power to Napoleon Bonaparte, and in the eyes of some, ended the French Revolution.

After the coup, Napoleon and his allies legitimized his position by creating the "short and obscure Constitution of the Year VIII" (as Malcolm Crook has called it^[1]). The constitution tailor-made the position of First Consul to give Napoleon most of the powers of a dictator. It was the first constitution since the Revolution without a Declaration of Rights.

The executive power was vested in three Consuls, but all actual power was held by the First Consul, Bonaparte. This was no longer Robespierre’s Republic, but the Roman Republic, which reminded the French of stability, order, and peace. To emphasize this, Napoleon used classical Roman terms in the Constitution: Consul, Senator, Tribune.

The Constitution of Year VIII established a legislature with three houses: a Senate of 31 men over the age of 60, a Tribunate of 100 men, and a Legislative Body (Corps Législatif) of 300 men.

The Constitution also used the term “notables.” The term “notables” was a common usage under the monarchy; every Frenchman understood it, and it was comforting. It referred to prominent, "distinguished" men: landholders, merchants, scholars, professionals, clergymen, officials. The people in each district chose a slate of "notables" by popular vote. The First Consul appointed the Senate, which then appointed the Tribunate and Corps Législatif from these slates.

Napoleon held a plebiscite on the Constitution in December. The vote was not binding, but it allowed Napoleon to maintain a veneer of democracy. The vote was 3,000,000 in favor, and 1,500 against.

This Constitution was succeeded by the Constitution of the Year X, which made Napoleon First Consul for Life.