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===Prior codification attempts===
Before the Napoleonic Code, France did not have a single set of [[law]]s; law consisted mainly of local customs, sometimes officially compiled in "custumals" (''[[coutume]]s''), notably the ''[[Custom of Paris in New France|Custom of Paris]]''. There were also exemptions, [[privilege (legal ethics)|privileges]], and special [[Charter|charters]] granted by kings or other feudal lords. With the Revolution, the last vestiges of [[feudalism]] were abolished.{{fact|date=March 2024}}
Specifically, as to civil law, the many different bodies of law used in different parts of France were to be replaced by a single legal code. The [[Constituent Assembly]] on 5 October 1790 voted for a codification of French laws, the [[French Constitution of 1791|Constitution of 1791]] promised one, and the [[National Assembly (French Revolution) |National Assembly]] adopted a unanimous resolution on 4 September 1791 providing that "there shall be a code of civil laws common for the entire realm."<ref>Constitution of 3 September 1791, 1.11: "''Il sera fait un Code de lois civiles communes à tout le Royauame''".</ref> However, it was the [[National Convention]] in 1793 which established a special commission headed by [[Jean-Jacques Régis de Cambacérès]] to oversee the drafting process.<ref>Cronin, Vincent (1972). Napoleon Bonaparte; An Intimate Biography. pp. 176, 193, 283</ref>
His drafts of 1793 (for which Cambacérès had been given a one month deadline), 1794, and 1796 were all rejected by a National Convention and the [[French Directory]] régime of the time was more preoccupied with the turmoil resulting from various wars and strife with other European powers. The first draft contained 719 articles and was very revolutionary, but was rejected for being too technical and criticized for not being radical or philosophical enough. The second, with only 297 articles, was rejected for being too brief and was criticized for being a mere manual of morals. The third, expanded to 1,104 articles, was presented under the conservative Directory regime, but never even came up for discussion.{{fact|date=March 2024}}
Another commission, established in December 1799 established a fourth outline drafted in part by {{ILL|Jean-Ignace Jacqueminot|fr}} (1754–1813). Jacqueminot's draft, the so-called ''loi Jacqueminot'', dealt almost exclusively with persons<ref>Eric Descheemaeker, ''The Division of Wrongs: A Historical Comparative Study'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 128.</ref> and emphasized the need to reform the [[divorce]] laws, to strengthen parental authority and increase the testator's freedom to dispose of the free portion of his estate.<ref>Tom Holmberg, "The Civil Code: an Overview", ''The Napoleon Series'', September 2002, [online] <https://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/code/c_code2.html>.</ref> It was rejected.
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