On the side of local liberty, the Girondins’ Constitution of 1793 demanded universal suffrage at the local level and total decentralisation—but it was never implemented. It was the Jacobins who eventually gained dominance and established a centralised republican State with a long reach. With the decree of December 4, 1793 departements lost powers that had been briefly granted to them only a few years earlier (but were never implemented). Under Napoleon this centralisation continued, the departemental structure of 1790 was retained and the powerful position of prefet in departements ensured State control over local matters (Schmidt, 2007: 23).