What did the Constitution of 1795 establish for the French government?

• A. The Directory, a five-member executive, and a bicameral legislature (Council of Five Hundred and Council of Ancients)
• B. A republic with a single-house legislature
• C. A constitutional monarchy under Louis XVIII
• D. A unitary government with a king

Answer: (A)

The Constitution of 1795 established a Directory era in which power was shared rather than vested in a single ruler. It created a five-member Directory to act as the executive, designed to prevent the rise of another strong monarch or tyrant by diffusing authority among several leaders. It also set up a bicameral legislature: a lower house, the Council of Five Hundred, that proposed laws, and an upper house, the Council of Ancients, that reviewed and approved legislation and helped govern by guiding the Directory’s actions. This structure aimed to provide stability after the radical phases of the Revolution, though it faced ongoing challenges from corruption and military pressures. The other options don’t fit because the regime established a multiple-person executive with two houses, not a single-house republic, not a constitutional monarchy under Louis XVIII, and not a unitary king-led state.