Since the fall of the
Second Empire, France had been living under an interim government following the proclamation of the
Government of National Defense by
Léon Gambetta on 4 September 1870. Several laws were passed by the
National Assembly, the unicameral body of the
French parliament elected in 1871, to organize the state's provisional institutions: • decree of 17 February 1871 appointing
Adolphe Thiers as "chief of the executive power of the French Republic". • law of 31 August 1871 known as the , appointing Thiers "President of the Republic" and specifying his powers. • law of 15 February 1872, known as the
Tréveneuc law, on the role of the
departmental councils in the event of war. • law of 13th March 1873, known as the , modifying the methods of communication between the President of the Republic and the National Assembly. • law of 20 November 1873, known as the "loi du septennat", appointing
Patrice de Mac Mahon to the presidency of the Republic for seven years. == Timeline of French constitutions ==