The
local elective councils continued to exist, but sat only for a
fortnight in the year and had to deal merely with the assessment of
taxes: they might be consulted by the prefect or sub-prefect but had no
serious check upon the executive. The mayor of every small commune was
henceforth to be chosen by the prefect, while the police of all cities
containing more than 100,000 inhabitants were directed by the central
government and the mayors of towns of more than 5000 population were
chosen by Bonaparte.
This highly centralized administration of the country afforded the
people little direct voice in governmental matters but it possessed
distinct advantages in assuring the prompt, uniform, military-like
execution of the laws and decrees of the central government. In essence
it was a continuation of the system of intendants instituted by
Cardinal Richelieu. How conservative are the French people, at least in
the institutions of local government, may be inferred from the fact
that despite many changes in France during the nineteenth century from
republic to empire to monarchy to republic to empire to republic,
Bonaparte's system of prefects and sub-prefects has survived to the
present day.
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