fmd_345144 - 5 francs Union et Force, Union serré, avec glands intérieurs et gland extérieur 1802 Perpignan F.288/75

CONSULATE

(9-10/11/1799-18/05/1804)

Backed by supporters of a strong power, Napoleon Bonaparte, General victorious campaigns in Italy and Egypt, overthrew the Directory on 18 and 19 Brumaire Year VIII (9 and 10 November 1799). The Revolution is over, the fate of France is now in the hands of a strong executive. A new constitution, the Constitution of the year VIII, enters into force on December. It defines the powers and strengthens Bonaparte in his country's strongman role: First Consul, at the head of the executive, he appoints to key public functions has a certain legislative initiative power and retains its role military. The Senate, the Legislative Body and Tribunat up three assemblies that have the other part of the legislative function. November 11, 1799, Bonaparte took an important decision: he appoints Gaudin Minister of Finance. It will retain his position until April 1, 1814, and find during the Hundred Days. Restore the finances of the state is the number one priority of the First Consul. Thus, the Banque de France was created February 18, 1800. With the help of the Sinking Fund, the budget is restored France in 1802. And in 1803, as part of the great monetary reform, Franc, guaranteeing stability, reborn as the Franc Germinal. The second priority is Bonaparte internal pacification of the country undermined by divisions created by the Revolution. To reconcile the French, several measures were adopted: religious freedom, end the sale of national property, amnesty for immigrants. Only western France remains insubordinate. Insurgency and brigandage drive this part of the country and undermine hopes of the First Consul, despite the signing of a truce with the Chouans leaders in November 1799. However, with the support of the clergy, the Vendée is pacified current 1800. The religious frame then fits definitively as the main element of the stabilization of the company. Negotiations with Pope Pius VII resulted in the signing of the Concordat of 1801. Sixty bishops appointed by Bonaparte, and invested by the Pope, then settled on the whole territory. Catholic priests, also called, are now bureaucratized. Many refractory align themselves, others continue to have trouble, mainly in Brittany and Normandy, where the Royalists, aided by England, awaiting the arrival of Louis XVIII. Outside, another challenge awaits Bonaparte restore peace. The Austrians were defeated at Marengo 14 June 1800, then Hohenlinden December 3, 1800. Peace of Luneville was signed February 9, 1801. March 25, 1802, the Peace of Amiens was signed with the British. In 1802, the Consulate takes a new direction, more authoritarian. The Jacobins are excluded from political life (the most virulent stopped by Fouche, Prefect of Police), the press is controlled, and the Royalists pursued. It is in this context that adopted the Constitution of the Year X: it considerably reduces the powers of the assemblies, and called Napoleon Bonaparte Consul for life. The bases of the first Empire in place.