The Directory
1795-1799
The
Directory became France's executive power between 1795 and 1799.
There
were five members, or directors, and each was elected by the Council
of Ancients (les Anciens) and the Five
Hundred (Cinq-Cents).
It
was effective in its first years, but then corruption and self-service
set in.
Internal
bickering and in-fighting increasingly destabilised the country
and, in 1799, two of its members - Paul Barras
and Abbe Sieyes - plotted with Napoleon
Bonaparte to overthrow their colleagues.
The
Coup of Brumaire succeeded and the Directory was dissolved. It was
replaced by the Consulate.
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