French Legislative Assembly

Legislative Assembly Assemblée législative
Kingdom of France
Medal of the Legislative Assembly
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Established	1 October 1791
Disbanded	20 September 1792
Preceded by	National Constituent Assembly
Succeeded by	National Convention
Seats	745
Meeting place
Salle du Manège, Paris

The Legislative Assembly (French: Assemblée législative) was the legislature of France from 1 October 1791 to 20 September 1792 during the years of the French Revolution. It provided the focus of political debate and revolutionary law-making between the periods of the National Constituent Assembly and of the National Convention.

The National Constituent Assembly dissolved itself on 30 September 1791. Upon Robespierre's motion it had decreed that none of its members would be eligible to the next legislature. Its successor body, the Legislative Assembly, operating under the liberal French Constitution of 1791, lasted until 20 September 1792, when the National Convention was established after the insurrection of 10 August just the month before.

The Legislative Assembly entrenched the perceived left-right political spectrum that is still commonly used today. There were 745 members.

The elections of 1791, held by census franchise, brought in a legislature that desired to carry the Revolution further. Prominent in the legislature were the Jacobin Club and its affiliated societies throughout France.

The Legislative Assembly first met on 1 October 1791. It consisted of 745 members, mostly from the middle class. The members were generally young, and since none had sat in the previous Assembly, they largely lacked national political experience. They tended to be people who had made their name through successful political careers in local politics.

The rightists within the assembly consisted of about 260 "Feuillants", whose chief leaders, Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette and Antoine Barnave, remained outside the House, because of their ineligibility for re-election. They were staunch constitutional monarchists, firm in their defence of the King against the popular agitation.