Chamber of Representatives (France) facts for kids
The Chamber of Representatives (in French, Chambre des représentants) was a special group of people chosen by the public to help run France. It was like the lower house of the French Parliament, created under a set of rules called the Charter of 1815. This group had 629 members, and they were supposed to serve for five years. The other main part of the Parliament was the Chamber of Peers, which was like the upper house.
History of the Chamber of Representatives
A person named Jean Denis, comte Lanjuinais was the leader, or president, of this Chamber while it existed.
The Chamber of Representatives didn't last very long. It was created during a time known as the Hundred Days, when Napoleon was briefly back in power. After Napoleon's big defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the Chamber of Representatives told him he needed to step down as Emperor of the French.
On June 22, 1815, the Chamber chose three people (Carnot, the duc d'Otrante, and the comte Grenier). These three joined two others to form a special group called the Commission de gouvernement. This group was meant to create a new government for France. The very next day, on June 23, 1815, the Chamber of Representatives even named Napoleon II as the new Emperor.
However, countries that had fought against Napoleon, known as the Seventh Coalition, soon took control of Paris. The Chamber gave up on July 3. It quickly became clear that these countries wanted to bring back the old royal family, the Bourbons, to rule France again. On July 8, 1815, soldiers stopped the Chamber from meeting, which effectively ended its existence.
After the Bourbons were put back in charge, a different group called the Chamber of Deputies became the new lower part of Parliament. A group of very traditional royalists, nicknamed the Chambre introuvable, took their seats in October 1815.
Plans for a New Chamber in 1873
Years later, during the early days of the French Third Republic, France's Parliament was a single large group called the National Assembly. This Assembly was elected in 1871 and also worked to write a new constitution.
In 1873, an early plan for the new constitution suggested bringing back the Chamber of Representatives. It also proposed having a Senate as the upper house. However, the final laws passed in 1875 decided to use the Chamber of Deputies as the lower house instead.
