The Directory

What happened

In November 1795 a new constitution created the Directory, a five-man executive balanced by a two-chamber legislature, meant to restore stability after the Terror while preserving the gains of 1789. Over four years it weathered economic crisis, corruption, and repeated challenges from both Jacobins and royalists, relying ever more heavily on the army to hold power.

Why it matters

Weak and widely disliked, the Directory kept the Republic alive but never won broad support, leaving the door open for an ambitious general to seize control.

Sources

• World History Encyclopedia. French Directory · Reputable source