Sénat conservateur
Encyclopedia
The Sénat conservateur was a body set up in France during the Consulate
French Consulate
The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire in 1804...

 by the Constitution of the Year VIII
Constitution of the Year VIII
The Constitution of the Year VIII was a national constitution of France, adopted December 24, 1799 , which established the form of government known as the Consulate...

. With the Tribunat
Tribunat
The Tribunat was one of the four assemblies set up in France by the Constitution of Year VIII . It was set up officially on 1 January 1800 at the same time as the...

 and the Corps législatif
Corps législatif
The Corps législatif was a part of the French legislature during the French Revolution and beyond. It is also the generic French term used to refer to any legislative body.-History:The Constitution of the Year I foresaw the need for a corps législatif...

, it formed one of the three legislative assemblies
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

 of the Consulate. The constitutions of Year X
Constitution of the Year X
The Constitution of the Year X was a national constitution of France adopted during the Year X of the French Revolutionary Calendar...

 and Year XII
Constitution of the Year XII
The Constitution of the Year XII was a national constitution of France adopted during the Year XII of the French Revolutionary Calendar ....

  (18 May 1804), instituting the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...

, did nothing but reinforce the importance of the Sénat conservateur.

Guarding the constitution

Set up under the direct influence of the regime's new master, First Consul Bonaparte, the Constitution of 22 frimaire year VIII (13 December 1799) was the first to recreate a senate. Bonaparte was to make this "Sénat conservateur", charged with watching over the survival of the Constitution, a key element in his regime.

This first senate had to be made up of only 60 inamovible (immoveable, i.e. permanent) members, aged at least 40, to which had to be added two supplementary members every year for ten years, ending up with 20 supplementary members. There was no longer any question of elections (even indirect ones) to form this assembly. The Constitution provided for Sieyès and Roger-Ducos, the outgoing second and third consuls, to become ex officio members of the Senate. In consultation with Cambacérès and Lebrun (the new second and third consuls directly designated by the Constitution), it also granted the outgoing consuls the privilege of choosing the majority of the Senate (ie 29 other senators). This majority then picked the rest of the members. The Senate thus recruited itself and subsequently replaced deceased members by choosing from among three candidates presented to it by the First Consul, the Tribunat and the Corps législatif.

The Napoleonic senate set itself up at the Luxembourg Palace
Luxembourg Palace
The Luxembourg Palace in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, north of the Luxembourg Garden , is the seat of the French Senate.The formal Luxembourg Garden presents a 25-hectare green parterre of gravel and lawn populated with statues and provided with large basins of water where children sail model...

, based in a semicircle of seats added to the central part of the building by the Palace's architect Chalgrin
Jean Chalgrin
Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin was a French architect, best known for his design for the Arc de Triomphe, Paris.-Biography:...

 – in the words of the Constitution, "The sittings [of the Senate] are not [to be] public". The first Sénat conservateur included former members of the revolutionary assemblies (François de Neufchateau
François de Neufchâteau
Nicolas-Louis François de Neufchâteau was a French statesman, poet, and scientist.-Early years:Born at Saffais, in Meurthe-et-Moselle, the son of a schoolteacher, he studied at the Jesuit college of Neufchâteau in the Vosges, and at the age of fourteen published a volume of poetry which obtained...

, Garat
Dominique Joseph Garat
Dominique Joseph Garat was a French writer and politician.- Biography :Garat was born at Bayonne...

, Lanjuinais
Jean Denis, comte Lanjuinais
Jean Denis, comte Lanjuinais was a French politician, lawyer, jurist, journalist, and historian.-Early career:...

), as well as scholars (Monge
Gaspard Monge
Gaspard Monge, Comte de Péluse was a French mathematician, revolutionary, and was inventor of descriptive geometry. During the French Revolution, he was involved in the complete reorganization of the educational system, founding the École Polytechnique...

, Lagrange
Joseph Louis Lagrange
Joseph-Louis Lagrange , born Giuseppe Lodovico Lagrangia, was a mathematician and astronomer, who was born in Turin, Piedmont, lived part of his life in Prussia and part in France, making significant contributions to all fields of analysis, to number theory, and to classical and celestial mechanics...

, Lacépède, Berthollet
Claude Louis Berthollet
Claude Louis Berthollet was a Savoyard-French chemist who became vice president of the French Senate in 1804.-Biography:...

), philosophers (Cabanis
Pierre Jean George Cabanis
-Further reading:- Further reading :----...

), and even the explorer Bougainville
Louis Antoine de Bougainville
Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville was a French admiral and explorer. A contemporary of James Cook, he took part in the French and Indian War and the unsuccessful French attempt to defend Canada from Britain...

 and the painter Vien
Joseph-Marie Vien
Joseph-Marie Vien , French painter, was born at Montpellier. He was the last holder of the post of Premier peintre du Roi, serving from 1789 to 1791....

, member of the Institut.

The era of "Sénatus-consulte"s

In year X (1802), a revision
Constitution of the Year X
The Constitution of the Year X was a national constitution of France adopted during the Year X of the French Revolutionary Calendar...

 of the Constitution reinforced senators' positions. From then on the Senate would rule via acts having the force of law, known as "sénatus-consultes", in all matters unforeseen by the Constitution and which needed political action from the regime. The procedure was used, for example, for the 1802 amnesty for emigré
Émigré
Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....

s.

The number of senators rose to 120. First Consul Bonaparte directly controlled the Senate's activity and composition – he convoked it, presided over it, reserved the right to present it with its candidates, personally designated three candidates from the list of citizens elected by the electoral colleges and could also name senators of his own initiative.

Examples of "Sénatus-consulte"s

  • Sénatus-consulte du 22 Ventôse An X (13 March 1802) relating to the manner in which the renewal of the first four fifths of the Corps législatif and of the Tribunat would be made in year X, and in the 3 subsequent years
  • Sénatus-consulte du 6 Floréal An X (26 April 1802) relating to émigré
    Émigré
    Émigré is a French term that literally refers to a person who has "migrated out", but often carries a connotation of politico-social self-exile....

    s
  • Sénatus-consulte du 14 Thermidor An X (2 août 1802), proclaiming Napoleon "First Consul for life"
  • Sénatus-consulte organique du 16 Thermidor an X (4 August 1802), on the Constitution
    Constitution of the Year X
    The Constitution of the Year X was a national constitution of France adopted during the Year X of the French Revolutionary Calendar...

  • Sénatus-consulte organique du 8 Fructidor an X (26 August 1802), reuniting Elba into the territory of the French Republic
  • Sénatus-consulte du 8 Fructidor an X (26 August 1802) relating to the classification of the members of the Corps législatif "en séries", and the means of reducing the members of the Tribunat
  • Sénatus-consulte du 8 Fructidor an X (26 August 1802), relating to the terms under which the "sénatus-consulte" pronouncing the dissolution of the Corps législatif and/or the Tribunat would be edited
  • Sénatus-consulte du 10 Fructidor An X (28 August 1802), designating the towns whose mayors would be present at the oath-taking of any citizen named to succeed the first consul
  • Sénatus-consulte organique du 24 Fructidor an X (11 September 1802), reuniting the departments of Pô, Doire, Marengo, la Sezia, la Stura and Le Tanaro into the territory of the French Republic
  • Sénatus-consulte du 26 Vendémiaire An XI (18 October 1802), suspending jury functions in several departments during years XI and XII
  • Sénatus-consulte organique du 26 Vendémiaire An XI (18 October 1802), relating to foreigners becoming naturalised French citizens, for services rendered to the Republic, importing of useful inventions or the foundation of major establishments.
  • Sénatus-consulte du 8 Ventôse an XII (28 February 1804), suspending jury functions for treason trials for years XII and XIII.
  • Sénatus-consulte du 27 mars 1805, concerning the grant of French citizenship to prince Camillo Filippo Ludovico Borghese
    Camillo Filippo Ludovico Borghese
    Don Camillo Filippo Ludovico Borghese, Prince of Sulmona and of Rossano, Duke and Prince of Guastalla was a member of the Borghese family, best known for being brother-in-law to Napoleon.- Biography :...

  • Sénatus-consulte du 9 septembre 1805, on the reestablishment of the Gregorian Calendar
    Gregorian calendar
    The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...

  • Sénatus-consulte organique du 28 octobre 1805, concerning the return of Gênes, etc., into the French Empire, and the deputations to furnish to the Corps législatif by the departments of Gênes, Montenotte and les Apennins

A pampered elite

In January 1803 Napoleon created the system of sénatorerie
Sénatorerie
The sénatoreries were the great properties distributed by Napoléon Bonaparte to senators in an implicit exchange for their docility towards his regime, as it became less and less democratic, starting on 4 January 1803...

s, which ensured the senators' complete compliance and docility. From June 1804 onwards, these were granted to 36 senators and made these senators regional "super-préfets". They gave these senators the right, during their own lifetime, to have a residential palace (a château or a former episcopal palace) and to annual revenue from 20,000 to 25,000 francs – doubling ordinary senatorial pay. For example, Berthollet
Claude Louis Berthollet
Claude Louis Berthollet was a Savoyard-French chemist who became vice president of the French Senate in 1804.-Biography:...

 received the sénatorerie of Montpellier, occupied the bishop's palace at Narbonne
Narbonne
Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...

 and received an annual revenue of 22,690 francs.

Rise and fall of an emperor

The Constitution of the Year XII
Constitution of the Year XII
The Constitution of the Year XII was a national constitution of France adopted during the Year XII of the French Revolutionary Calendar ....

 (1804) proclaimed the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...

 and increased the Senate's dependency on Napoleon (now emperor) still more. Napoleon's rewards to his senators became more and more frequent, as did the senators' shows of allegiance to him. Thus, on 1 January 1806, in homage to these "sages de l’Empire" (wise-men of the Empire), the emperor granted the senators 54 enemy flags. The "sénateur maréchal
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...

 d’Empire" Pérignon
Catherine-Dominique de Pérignon
Catherine-Dominique de Pérignon, 1st Marquis de Grenade was Marshal of France.-Early life:He was born to a family of small nobility in Grenade-sur-Garonne, département of the Haute-Garonne. After a roturier appointment in the grenadier corps of Aquitaine, he retired to his estate...

 then enthusiastically proposed the construction of a triumphal arch to the glory of the emperor, a suggestion warmly backed by his colleagues, including senator Lacépède.

Napoléon summoned into the Senate the French princes, the Great Dignitatries
Great Officers of the Crown of France
The Great Officers of the Crown of France, known as the Grand Dignitaries of the Empire during the French Empire, were the most important officers of state of the royal court in France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration. They were appointed by the French monarch, with all but the...

 and all his choicest friends, with no limit on numbers. He granted this to his brother Joseph
Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte was the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who made him King of Naples and Sicily , and later King of Spain...

, but also to Cambacérès
Jean Jacques Régis de Cambacérès
Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès, 1st Duke of Parma was a French lawyer and statesman during the French Revolution and the First Empire, best remembered as the author of the Napoleonic code, which still forms the basis of French civil law.-Early career:Cambacérès was born in Montpellier, into a...

, Chaptal
Jean-Antoine Chaptal
Jean-Antoine Claude, comte Chaptal de Chanteloup was a French chemist and statesman. He established chemical works for the manufacture of the mineral acids, soda and other substances...

, Fouché
Joseph Fouché
Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante was a French statesman and Minister of Police under Napoleon Bonaparte. In English texts his title is often translated as Duke of Otranto.-Youth:Fouché was born in Le Pellerin, a small village near Nantes...

, Fontanes
Louis-Marcelin de Fontanes
Louis-Marcelin, marquis de Fontanes was a French poet and politician.-Biography:Born in Niort , he belonged to a noble Protestant family of Languedoc which had been reduced to poverty by the revocation of the edict of Nantes. His father and grandfather remained Protestant, but he was himself...

, Tronchet
François Denis Tronchet
François Denis Tronchet was a French jurist.Born in Paris, he became an avocat at the Parlement de Paris, and gained a great reputation in a consultative capacity. In 1789, he was elected deputy to the Estates-General...

 and generals such as Caulaincourt
Armand Augustin Louis de Caulaincourt
Armand-Augustin-Louis, marquis de Caulaincourt, 1st Duc de Vicence was a French general and diplomat.-Biography:...

 and Duroc. Laden with Napoleon's favours, the senators nonetheless proclaimed his fall on 3 April 1814 and summoned Louis XVIII to take the throne.

Presidents of the Sénat conservateur

Consulate

  • From the first sitting of 4 nivôse year VIII (25 December 1799) onwards, the oldest of the first members who sat at that time who presided : Dailly
    Dailly
    Dailly is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located on the Water of Girvan, south of Maybole, and east of Old Dailly. "New Dailly", as it was originally known, was laid out in the 1760s as a coal-mining village...

  • 5 nivôse, year VIII (26 December 1799) – ... : Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès
  • ...
  • 2 August 1801 – ... : François Christophe Kellermann
    François Christophe Kellermann
    François Christophe Kellermann or de Kellermann, 1st Duc de Valmy was a French military commander, later the Général d'Armée, and a Marshal of France...


Empire

  • 19 May 1804 – 19 May 1806 : Nicolas-Louis François de Neufchâteau
  • 19 May 1806 – 1 July 1807 : Gaspard Monge
    Gaspard Monge
    Gaspard Monge, Comte de Péluse was a French mathematician, revolutionary, and was inventor of descriptive geometry. During the French Revolution, he was involved in the complete reorganization of the educational system, founding the École Polytechnique...

  • 1 July 1807 – 1 July 1808 : Bernard Germain de Lacépède
  • 1 July 1808 – 1 July 1809 : comte de Saint-Vallier
  • 1 July 1809 – 1 July 1811 : Germain Garnier
  • 1 July 1811 – 1 July 1813 : Bernard Germain de Lacépède
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