The coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799) had effectively given all power to Napoleon Bonaparte, and in the eyes of some, ended the French Revolution.

More than anything, the Consulat resembled the autocratic Roman Republic of Caesar Augustus, a conservative republic-in-name, which reminded the French of stability, order, and peace.

Once all of its members were picked, it would then appoint the Tribunate, the Corps Législatif, the judges of cassation, and the commissioners of accounts from the National List of notables.

A more extensive alteration, the Constitution of the Year XII, established the Bonaparte dynasty with Napoleon as a hereditary Emperor.

The first, brief Bourbon Restoration of 1814 abolished the Napoleonic constitutional system, but the Emperor revived it and at once virtually replaced it with the so-called "Additional Act" of April 1815, promulgated on his return to power.

The return of Louis XVIII in July 1815 (following the Hundred Days) saw the definitive abolition of Napoleon's constitutional arrangements.

[9] Napoléon proceeded to compose, alongside Sieyès, a new constitution aiming to assure a strong executive power, concentrated in Napoleon's hands.

[12] It was adopted on 13 December 1799, under pretext of emergency, before being ratified by a plebiscite which took place for 15 days, the official results of which were made public 7 February 1800.

Officially, the Constitution was approved by 3,011,107 citizens against 1,562 opposants,[13] from a base of around 6 million voters registered in electoral lists.

French historian Claude Langlois demonstrated in 1972 that the results of this plebiscite had been massively falsified by Napoleon's brother Lucien Bonaparte.

[14][15] The Constitution of the Year VIII marks a break with the preceding constitutions- it allows Napoleon to exercise a personal power[16] all the while maintaining an illusion of democracy.

The designation by name of five citizens (Napoleon, Cambacérès, Lebrun, Sieyès, and Ducos)[21] limits the applicability of the text to the lifetimes of the Consuls.

[22] The first three consuls designated by the Constitution of Year VIII are Napoléon Bonaparte, Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès, and Charles-François Lebrun.

Composed of 100 men over the age of 25 selected by the Senate from the lists of Notability,[28] the Tribunate had the role of discussing laws proposed by the Government.

The Legislative Body was composed of 300 members over the age of 30,[29] selected likewise by the Senate from national lists of notability.

[32] The Constitution of the Year VIII explicitly named Sieyès and Roger-Ducos, outgoing Second and Third Consuls, as ex officio members of the Senate.