decree, the Nazis were able to use their control of the police to intimidate and arrest their opposition, in particular the Communists. Due to the use of Article 48, this repression had the mark of legality. The 5 March elections gave the Nazi-DNVP coalition a narrow majority in the Reichstag. Nonetheless, the Nazis were able to maneuver on 23 March 1933 the passage of the Enabling Act by the required two-thirds parliamentary majority, effectively abrogating the authority of the Reichstag and placing its authority in the hands of the Cabinet (in effect, the Chancellor). This had the effect of giving Hitler dictatorial powers. Over the years, Hitler used Article 48 to give his dictatorship the stamp of legality. Thousands of his decrees were based explicitly on the Reichstag Fire Decree, and hence on Article 48, allowing Hitler to rule under what amounted to martial law. This was a major reason why Hitler never formally repealed the Weimar Constitution, though it had effectively been rendered a dead letter with the passage of the Enabling Act. Lessons learned The misuse of Article 48 was fresh in the minds of the framers of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. They decided to significantly curb the powers of the president, to the point that he, unlike his Weimar predecessor, has little de facto executive power. Also, to prevent a government from being forced to rely on decrees to carry on normal business, they stipulated that a chancellor may only be removed from office via a constructive vote of no confidence. That is, a chancellor can only be voted out of office if his prospective successor already commands a majority. Article 48 also influenced the framers of the French Constitution of 1958, whose Article 16 similarly allows the President of France to rule by decree in emergencies. The French article, however, includes much stronger safeguards against misuse than was the case in Weimar. The president is required to consult with the prime minister and the presidents of both houses of Parliament before issuing emergency decrees; these decrees, in turn, cannot be used to suspend civil rights and liberties, but are instead required to be designed to restore the normal rules of the Constitution. That is, the president cannot use Article 16 as a substitute for parliamentary confidence. Article 16 also prohibits the dissolution of the National Assembly while an emergency is in