French Directory

Directory, French, the government of the First French Republic from November, 1795, to November, 1799. It succeeded the National Convention, which had governed France since 1792. The Directory was headed by five officials called directors. The assembly under them consisted of two chambers of representatives. An important political event of the period was the rise of the army as the deciding element in the government. After 1797 the Directory became a dictatorship. It was overthrown in November, 1799, by Napoleon Bonaparte, head of the army, and replaced by the Consulate.