The constitution tailor-made the position of First Consul to give Napoleon most of the powers of a dictator. The new constitution (adopted in 1799) established the form of government known as the Consulate.
A remnant of the Council of Ancients abolished the Constitution of the Year III, ordained the Consulate, and legalized the coup d’état in favor of Bonaparte with the Constitution of the Year VIII.In the Coup of 18 Brumaire, Napoleon seized French parliamentary and military power, forcing the sitting directors of the government to resign. French military disasters in 17 damaged the Directory, eventually leading to its demise. The Directory was a five-member committee that governed France from November 1795 when it replaced the Committee of Public Safety.
