French Constitution of 1791

The French Constitution of 1791 was the very first written Constitution of France. It was an important result of the French Revolution and adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen as its introduction.

This Constitution meant the creation of a French constitutional monarchy. The main controversy was the level of power to be granted to the King of France in such a system. After very long negotiations, the long expected first Constitution was brought in September of 1791.

The principle of Separation of powers was the basis for the Constitution: The National Assembly was the legislative body, the King and the Ministers made up the executive branch and the judicial branch was independent from the other two.

The constitution attempted to establish a liberal bourgeois constitutional monarchy, but this did not work out. On 10 August 1792 the monarchy of France ended.

Other websites

• The Constitution of 1791