Summoned for the purpose of drafting a new constitution of the French Republic, the Assemblée nationale constituante (Constituent National Assembly) debated the issue of executive authority at its sessions of 8 May 1848 and 9 May 1848. A resolution passed on 9 May 1848 provided for election of an executive commission composed of five members. In accordance with the resolution, the Commission du Pouvoir exécutif (Executive Power Commission) was elected by the Assembly on 10 May 1848 and held its first meeting on 11 May 1848. Chaired by François Arago, the Commission appointed (11 May 1848) ministers and exercised executive authority during the period of elaborating the constitution. The workers' revolt in Paris forced the Constituent Assembly to move to Versailles, where it voted (24 Jun 1848) for introducing the state of siege in the capital and transferring political and military power to the war minister, General Louis-Eugène Cavaignac. The members of the Commission, who had strenuosly resisted pressures to resign in the face of the insurrection, did finally submit the collective letter of resignation read out at the same session at 10:30.