Constitution project of April 19th, 1946

See also: Amorce=Pour to supplement your knowledge on the IV {{E}} Republic, to see the article, Constitution of October 27th, 1946

The constituent assembly is made up of an absolute majority for the left.

The Government is chaired initially by De Gaulle, then starting from January 20th, 1946 by Felix Gouin. De Gaulle resigns because it does not have the confidence of the Constituent National Assembly, where the first political clout is the Communist party, the second the SFIO, the de Gaulle General, him, being represented then by any party or movement.

This proposed text to establish a mode monocaméral with a single assembly elected by the universal direct suffrage for 5 years.

The Senate is replaced by two consultative bodies, the Economic council, precursor of the Economic and Social Council and the Council of the French Union.

The executive is divided between a President and the President of the Council. The President would have been elected by the Parliament, having honorary capacities. The President of the Council is also elected by the Parliament, and must make approve the composition and the program of his Cabinet by a vote of nomination.

The National Assembly is thus very powerful and there is a risk of drift towards a mode of assembly. Dissolution, but it extrèmement is extrèmement regulated, on the assumptions where “during the same annual session, two cabinet crises occur”, a cabinet crisis being then defined by a negative answer to a question of confidence or by the adoption of a motion of censure.

The inversion of a Cabinet is also strictly regulated, by requiring the absolute majority of the deputies composing the Parliament, and not the absolute majority of the attending members.

This text, criticized by the MRP and the line, with in particular the speech of Bayeux of De Gaulle, is rejected by referendum on May 5th, 1946.

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