French Constitution of 1793

The never applied democratic charter of Year I.

Overview

Adopted by the Convention in June 1793 and ratified by primary assemblies amid near universal male suffrage, the Constitution of Year I was the most democratic France would see for generations, with universal male suffrage, a right of insurrection, and popular sovereignty exercised through frequent assemblies. It was suspended immediately as war emergency took hold and never formally applied. Its blend of Rousseauian direct democracy and social rights to assistance and education influenced later republican thought. It fell with the Jacobin ascendancy and was replaced by the more conservative Year III constitution.