THE DIRECTORY GOVERNMENT IN FRANCE
By Wamanga Moses Wamboga (Teacher: [Link]’s College-Kisubi)
The Directory government was a conservative middle class oriented government that
ruled France from 1795-1799. Administration was in the hands of a committee of five
members who were called Directors hence the name Directory Government. Each
Director was to rule for one year. The Directors were assisted by a council of five
hundred composed of persons above the age of 30 years and the council of Elders
which comprised of persons of over 40 years. These councils were responsible for
making and amending the constitution.
Among those who served on the Directory were Vicomte de Barras, Lazare Carnot,
Joseph Fouché, Duccus, and Comte Abbey Sieyès. The most prominent directors
Barras and Carnot. The majority of the directors were self-seeking politicians with
little political ability; they were also corrupt and failed to maintain law and order in
France. During this period the French countryside was characterized by anarchy.
There were serious royalist uprisings and directors failed to crush them.
Demonstrations, violence and strikes were experienced in Paris and other French
cities, which the directors failed to control too.
In the summer of the 1799, the French army suffered a series of military defeats in the
ongoing war between France and other European powers. The people in France were
fed up of the directory government because it could not maintain law and order and
therefore looked forward to new leadership. Being opportunist, Napoleon Bonaparte
took advantage of the unpopularity of the directory and on 9th November 1799, he
overthrow the directory in a coup of ‘‘Brumaire’’. The overthrow of the directory
marked the end of the French revolution that had started in 1789.
Achievements of the directory government:
It brought to an end the reign of terror that had claimed many lives of innocent
Frenchmen and had led to massive destruction of property. Efforts were made to
restore orderly and disciplined governance in France. Society was transformed from
extreme to moderate Jacobinism in order to check the excesses of the French
revolutionaries. Consequently there was general peace and a return to political
stability in the country.
A democratic government was set-up headed by-a committee of five Directors. The
creation of this government followed the footsteps of the French revolution and this
was in the good interest of the French. The Directors were regularly replaced to avoid
dictatorship and anarchy and were always men of high repute. It was upon them that
peace returned to France after almost a decade of civil strife in the country.
This government as a basis for political stability undertook reconciliation efforts. The
government released all political prisoners and allowed emigres to return home. These
were unconditionally permitted to serve in the new government under the umbrella of
reconciliation. At the same time Girondins who were still alive were readmitted to
different positions of power in committees which were put in place between may and
downloaded from [Link].
All rights reserved @ BrainShare Ltd.
October 1795. This reduced the political influence of the Jacobins, the masterminds of
the reign of terror.
Bad laws that had operated in France between 1792-94 were repealed. For example
the law of maximum prices which spelt out maximum prices to be set for different
commodities in order to control inflation was withdrawn i.e. freedom of enterprise
was granted. The law of Prairial, which had been enacted against suspected opponents
of the convention government, was also repealed. Radical committees set up during
the period of terror were neutralized.
Interest was shown in the field of education where research programmes especially in
science were highly supported. This laid foundation for the future scientific and
educational development in France.
The Directory government maintained the French Republic established in 1793. This
government preserved all other achievements of the revolution such as the rights of
man civil constitution of the clergy, distribution of land to peasants.
In 1795, the Directory government drew up a new constitution. It was the third in the
days of revolution and came in to force in December 1795. The constitution limited
the rights of Frenchmen so as to check the violent activities of the revolution for
example the influence of the Paris mob was reduced i.e. they were not to attend
Assembly meetings anymore. This was unfortunate to Frenchmen who were in favour
of further revolutionary changes.
In addition, the constitution maintained the French Republic established in 1793
while voting was confined to only tax payers instead of universal suffrage. This was
again intended to reduce the influence of the low class-the Paris mob. The political
affairs of France were laid to rest in the hands of wealthy Frenchmen who were
considered to have a high degree of political sense.
Respecting the ideas of Montesquieu of separation of powers in government and
prevent any person or individual from emerging as a dictator, it provided for two
administrative committees namely:- The council of elders or ancients comprising of
250 members aged at least 45 years. The second was the council of 500 comprising of
500 members aged at least 30 years. These two councils were responsible for
legislation and decision-making in the country. But the council of 500 had limited
power i.e. it was only eligible to propose laws but not to debate them,
The influence of the Royalists was considerably reduced. In order to prevent a return
to their dominance especially in voting, it was decided that 2/3 of the members of the
Directory government had to be former members of the convention government i.e.
revolutionary people. The equality principle was ignored in this arrangement in the
interest of peace and stability in the country.
In foreign affairs, the Directory government pursued a vigorous and aggressive policy
on the neighbours. In an effort to spread the ideas of the French revolution, the
government declared war on Austria in 1796, Italy and Egypt. The French army under
the command of a young Artillery officer Napoleon Bonaparte gained military victory
against Austria in 1797, which favoured the spread of liberal revolutionary ideas and
French national glory.
downloaded from [Link].
All rights reserved @ BrainShare Ltd.
Weaknesses of the Directory Government (1794-99)
The government of the Directory lasted for only five years, a very short period of time.
It's true order was restored in France, the reign of terror came to an end, France
developed in many ways, but all these were not fully appreciated by Frenchmen. From
the very beginning of it's rule the government was disappointing because of the
following:-
The government had not been as liberal -as expected i.e. total democracy was not
granted to the French men e.g. the power to vote was confined to the rich middle
class. Peasants were denied the voting rights (disenfranchised). They were not
participating in political matters and were not to attend meetings any more. This was
considered a violation of the rights of man, the principles of the French evolution of
Liberty, equality and fraternity.
The Royalists were disappointed for not restoring their positions in the political
affairs i.e. They were denied the right to participate effectively in the government by
the law of 2/3 which stipulated that. The majority of the members in the new
government had to be revolutionary people.
The return of the emigres from exile and release of political prisoners also made the
Directory unpopular. Though, these were good reconciliation strategies, they left
many revolutionaries annoyed. Some revolutionaries considered the emigres and
political prisoners worse enemies of the French revolution who had even committed
treason against France. The revolutionaries wanted these people to pay in a hard way
rather than vice versa. This compelled them to loose confidence in the Directory.
Therefore, coupled with Napoleon's popularity, the Directory government rolled to its
'political grave' by 1799.
The directory government issued a constitution which confined the voting rights to
only learned men who were very few in the country. In this the directory government
was drawing back to the ancient regime, which Frenchmen had struggled since 1789
to do away with.
The government violated religious settings which annoyed the revolutionary people
i.e. the government had supported the "Religion of Anarchy" (philanthropy led by
Herbert). This religion was anti-christian yet the majority of the French were still
strong believers in Roman Catholicism.
Economic problems prevailed caused by exploitation of peasants by merchants and
social economic problems due to industrial entrepreneur ship which hit the society.
The relaxation of the law of maximum prices allowed merchants to self their goods at
higher prices than before. This led to suffering and increased poverty among the
peasants and the government became unpopular.
The government was very corrupt and inefficient yet in a period of severe economic
hardships. The economy was weak; the fields of agriculture and-industry had
declined. As such the government became very bankrupt and unable to attend to
people's problems.
downloaded from [Link].
All rights reserved @ BrainShare Ltd.
There was great mismanagement of state funds in the army and navy and also the
rigging of elections, e.g. in 1797. 98 and 99 the government with the support of the
army rigged the election to maintain their stay in power. As a result of this the French
with France at heart (Nationalists) made the need of change of government appear
obvious. In September 1798 in an election that was organized, many of the old
directors were not returned.
In foreign policy the directory government made efforts to spread the ideas of the
revolution and National glory for France but achieved very little. Austria, Italy,
Ireland were attacked. This led to international hostility against France, Coalitions of
European powers and armies were organized against France (the second coalition
1799). This caused a lot of panic and suffering in France, which made the government
very unpopular.
The Directory government failed in the 1798-1799 Egyptian campaign. In May
1798 Napoleon Bonaparte sailed from Toulon with an army 0[38,000 men to Egypt.
He also went with a large group of Scientists, 400 boats and a group of younger
generals of whom Murat was the most distinguished. Aware that England was a world
power to whom commerce was the life-blood, Napoleon planned to take over Egypt in
order to suffocate her (England) economic activities in the Mediterranean and would
perhaps capture India. On the way to Egypt, Napoleon captured Malta Island and in
July 1798 Alexandria.
The government failed to stamp out all the elements of socialism in France.
Socialism was mainly planted in France by political club known as; 'The Society of
Pantheon' or the 'Society of Equals 'which was started by Francois Babeuf. Frankly, in
October 1795 the political program (propaganda) of the society of equals increased to
threatening levels. Propagandists of this society formed their own Directory of six
Directors and secretly planned-to-kill the Constitutional Directors. However, their
motives (plans) became public secrets and their leaders amongst whom the most
honoured was Francois Babeuf, were forced to sign their death certificates (executed)
under Napoleon's military charisma. However, the socialist doctrine never died out. It
remained a challenge to the Directory regime. .
The peasants argued that if the government had been democratic, they would have
been able to get answers to their social and economic problems. They therefore
revolted against the directory government. The uprising were led by the Jacobins and
Royalists who had been deprived of political power. More unfortunately the
government used force to silence the opposition which was equally undemocratic and
sinful. The government employed the services of the Army under Napoleon against
the rebels who were about to attack the seat of the government at hotel de Paris. This
was against the ideas of the French revolution of 1789. Though the government
succeeded in suppressing the uprising it became unpopular and this also introduced
Napoleon to the French men.
The social and economic problems led to the growth of socialism, which created
instability in the country. The character named Francis Noel Babeuf started a political
club known as the society of panthenon (society of equals). In October 1795, this
society intensified its propaganda which was aimed at establishing socialism or
downloaded from [Link].
All rights reserved @ BrainShare Ltd.
communism in France where equality of the people was planned for. The rebels were
also demanding for provision of bread and the constitution of 1793 which had granted
them the right to vote. They conspired to murder the directors after having set up their
secret directory of six. They planned to go to the army and spread their gospel.
Unfortunately their plans leaked to the government and the leaders were persecuted.
All the same, this society left behind the idea of socialism or communism which left
the country unstable.
As a result of the above weaknesses the opposition against the directory grew in
strength year after year. This led to the collapse of the new government in a short
period of time. The government was opposed by the royalists who wanted
monarchical rule, the Church men who wanted religious tolerance or freedom, the
Jacobins, Girondins and masses who had been disenfranchised. As a result of this
apposition, the Directory government was over thrown by Napoleon Bonaparte.
QUESTIONS
Examine the Achievements of the Directory Government in France.
Assess the role of the Directory Government in the history of France.
Assess the significance of the Directory Government in France (1795-1799).
To what extent was the Directory Government (1795-1799) successful in France?
Note: All these questions in one way or the other demand a clear analysis of the
achievements and weaknesses of the Directory Government.
Account for the Downfall of the Directory Government in France.
Why did the Directory Government fail to maintain Law and order in France?
Account for increasing opposition to the Directory Government in France.
These demand factors for the collapse/ downfall of the Directory Government. These
are found in its weaknesses and failures in France and Europe. Such weaknesses and
failures were utilized by Napoleon to gain popularity and stage the coup of 1789 that
brought an end to the rule of the Directory Government.
downloaded from [Link].
All rights reserved @ BrainShare Ltd.