French Constitution of 1852

The French Constitution of 1852 was enacted on January 14, 1852 by Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (Napoleon III). Slightly modified later that year, on December 25, 1852 the constitution became the basis for the creation of the French Second Empire.

Adoption

Louis Napoléon brought an end to the Second French Republic by the coup d'état of December 2, 1851. The same day, he had posters issued that proclaimed to the French people (Appel au peuple) his desire to restore the "system created by the First Consul" — his uncle and inspiration Napoleon Bonaparte.

His coup was ratified by plebiscite on December 22 and 23, 1851. Backed by this strong success, he encouraged counsellors Rouher, Baroche and Troplong to quickly write the new constitution which was enacted on January 14, 1852.

The constitution was modified by the French Senate (by a "senatus-consulte") on November 7, 1852 to permit the re-establishing of the title of "Emperor" which was granted to Louis Napoléon. The Second Empire was proclaimed on December 2, 1852 and the Imperial Constitution was enacted on December 25, 1852, without any significant change to the January 14th constitution.

The Prince-President

The constitution rejected the Ancien Régime and the post-revolutionary restoration monarchies with census suffrage. It referred directly to the French Revolution – saying that it "recognizes, confirms and guarantees the principles proclaimed in 1789" – and especially to the First French Empire.

Louis Napoléon was persuaded that democracy needed to be incarnated in a man, and the Constitution of 1851 was a return to the democratic Caesarism of his uncle Napoléon Bonaparte. The regime was characterized by a strong personal power backed by universal suffrage; the French people remained "sovereign", and in this way the Second Empire was different from the earlier constitutional monarchies.

Division of powers

Personal government

The Government of the Republic was given over to Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte for 10 years, and executive and legislative powers were concentrated in his hands.

The Emperor held the classic powers of a chief of state: commander of the army, clemency, amnesty, the ability to enact and sign treaties. He also maintained the powers of a head of government including appointing and revoking governmental ministers and dissolving the Legislative Body.

He was assisted by the Counsel of State (Conseil d'État) which he controlled and presided, and whose job it was to write and support legislation.

Under Article 4 of the constitution, he also had extended legislative powers, including the ability to sign or to veto any legislation or senate decree ("senatus-consulte").

Weakened assemblies

The two French parliamentary assemblies were highly controlled and had limited powers.

The Corps législatif, or Legislative Body (the same name had been used for the lower house of the French legislature during the French Consulate from 1799–1814), comprised 260 deputies (representatives) elected for 6 years by direct universal suffrage, but gerrymandering of the election districts ("circonscriptions") and the system of "official candidates" favored partisans of the Empire. The Legislative Body could neither amend laws nor censure the actions of the ministers, and had no legislative autonomy, as its president and its rules were designated by the government.

The French Senate was composed of from 80 to 150 members appointed for life by the Emperor. It had the right to issue decrees, the senatus-consulte, to modify institutions and to verify the constitutionality of laws.

Evolution towards a parliamentary regime

Over time, various decrees and the "senatus-consulte" modified the constitution and progressively increased the power of the assemblies. In 1860, Napoleon III permitted the Senate and Legislative Body to once again have the right air their opinions and grievances on the acts of the government. In 1861, the Legislative Body began to publish its debates; in 1867 it gained the power to direct questions to the government; in 1869, it gained the power to initiate and amend legislation.

References

This article is based on the article Constitution de 1852 from the French Wikipedia, retrieved on October 20, 2006.

See also

• French constitution
• French Parliament
• Government of France
• History of France