List of constitutions of France

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The constitutions of France are the various foundational texts that have organized the institutions of France at different periods of its history. These may be known under various names – constitution, charter, constitutional laws or acts – and take precedence over other legislative texts.^[a]

The constitutional text currently in force in France is the constitution of 1958, which founded the Fifth Republic. It was approved by the people in a referendum on 28 September 1958, and officially promulgated on 4 October that year.

History

The constitutional history of France is made up of many changes that have led to experimentation with a large number of political regime types since the

Precursors

The

The Revolutionary Era saw a number of constitutions:^[3]

• parliamentary monarchy
  (3 September 1791).
• Constitution of 1793 (French Republican calendar), which was never implemented (21 June 1793).
• Constitution of the Year III, which instituted the Directory (5 Fructidor of Year III = 28 July 1795).
• Constitution of the Year VIII, which instituted the Consulate (22 Fructidor of the Year VIII = 13 December 1799).
• French Constitution of Year X, still during the Consulate (16 Thermidor of Year X = 2 August 1802).
• Constitution of the Year XII, which instituted the First Empire (28 Floréal of the year XII = 18 May 1804).

Following the restoration of the monarchy:^[3]

• Charter of 1814 of 4 June 1814 established the Bourbon Restoration.
• Charter of 1815 of 22 April 1815 (Hundred Days).
• Charter of 1830 of 14 August 1830 established the July Monarchy.

Mid-19th century:^[3]

• Constitution of 1848 adopted 4 November 1848, established the Second Republic.
• Second Empire
  .
• Constitutional Laws of 1875 of the Third Republic
  , 24 and 25 February, and 16 July 1875.

20th century:[3]

• Constitutional Law of 1940 adopted 10 July 1940, established Vichy France.
• Constitutional law of 2 November 1945, organized the Provisional Government of the French Republic.
• Constitution of 27 October 1946, established the Fourth Republic.
• Constitution of 4 October 1958, established the Fifth Republic.

Preamble

In

See also

• Article 49 of the French Constitution
• Constitutionalism
• French Constitutional Council
• Constitutional economics
• Fifth Republic (France)
• Political system of France
• Politics of France
• Parliamentary immunity in France
• De Gaulle's 1946 Bayeux speech

References

Notes

Footnotes

1. ^ "Le testament de Louis XIV". www.histoire-image.org (in French). 10 September 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
2. ^ "Le testament et les codicilles de Louis XIV". mediatheque-numerique.inp.fr. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} "Les Constitutions de la France" [French Constitutions]. conseil-constitutionnel.fr (in French).
4. Decision no. 71-44 DC, known as "Liberté d'association" ("Freedom of association"): https://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/en/decision/1971/7144DC.htm
5. ^ "Principe à valeur constitutionnelle - Fiches d'orientation" [Principle of constitutional force - Fact sheets]. Dalloz (in French). Paris: Editions Dalloz. May 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2023. Un principe à valeur constitutionnelle est un principe dégagé par le Conseil constitutionnel et dont le respect s'impose au législateur comme aux autres organes de l'État. Il est une norme juridique à part entière. [A principle of constitutional force is a principle identified by the Constitutional Council, the respect of which is binding on the legislator as well as on the other organs of the State. It is a legal norm in its own right.]

Further reading

• "Les révisions constitutionnelles" [Constitutional revisions]. Conseil Constitutionnel (in French).
• "France backs constitution reform". BBC. BBC News. 21 July 2008.
• Rogoff, Martin A. "Fifty years of constitutional evolution in France: The 2008 amendments and beyond". Jus Politicum. Retrieved 11 July 2022.

External links

French Wikisource has original text related to this article:

French constitutions (in French)

French Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Constitutional Acts of the Vichy Regime (in French)