Editing French Directory (section)

=== Elections of 1798 ===
{{main|1798 French legislative election}}
In the spring of 1798, not only a new third of the legislature had to be chosen, but the places of the members expelled by the revolution of {{lang|fr|Fructidor}} had to be filled. 437 seats were open, out of 750. The elections took place between 9 and 18 April. The royalists had been disqualified, and the moderates were in disarray, while the radical Jacobins made a strong showing. Before the new deputies could take their seats, Barras and the other Directors, more moderate than the new Jacobins, organized a commission to review the elections, and disqualified many of the more extreme Jacobin candidates (''[[Law of 22 Floréal Year VI]]''), replacing them with moderates. They sent the list of candidates for Director to the Councils, excluding any radicals. François de Neufchåteau was chosen by a drawing of lots to leave the Directory and Barras proposed only moderate Jacobins to replace him: the choice fell on [[Jean-Baptiste Treilhard]], a lawyer. These political maneuvers secured the power of the Directory, but widened further the gap between the moderate Directory and the radical Jacobin majority in the Councils.{{sfn|Tulard|Fayard|Fierro|1998|pp=232–233}}