Parliamentary Innovation and Experimentation in the Legislative Councils of the Directory

The French Directory (1795-1799) has long been ignored within the historiography of the French Revolution, yet it introduced radical new forms of parliamentary government. At both an institutional and procedural level, the Directory abandoned or modified many of the core elements of the Revolution's earlier parliamentary systems, such as the adoption of bicameralism, or the abolition of committees. These innovations left a lasting impression on the political culture of France, and were echoed in its various political systems of the 19th Century.