
Revolutionary free speech
Arts & Ideas
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The History of Freedom of Speech
New French constitution of 1795 decreed that there was no limitations to the freedom of the press or of the arts. Any law that impinged on this freedom would only be temporary and could last for a maximum of a year. Unsurprisingly, perhaps given the constitution's recognition of the limits of free speech, there were numerous censorship scandals throughout the directory. The very ideas that would need to be censored would not exist in the first place. Indeed, they would be unthinkable.
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