French Constitution of 1791

The first written constitution of France, ending absolutism with a limited monarchy.

Overview

Completed in September 1791 after two years of revolution, the French Constitution of 1791 transformed the absolute monarchy into a constitutional one with separation of powers, an elected Legislative Assembly, and the Declaration of the Rights of Man as its preamble. It created active and passive citizens by a property franchise, abolished feudal privileges, and reorganized France into departments. Louis XVI accepted it grudgingly, and his attempted flight to Varennes in 1791 had already gutted royal credibility. War and radicalization destroyed it by September 1792, when the monarchy was abolished.