Central Consistory is the institution set up by Napoleon I

Napoleon I

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

 by means of the Imperial Decree of 17 March 1808 to administer Jewish worship in France.

Following the separation of the Churches and the State in 1905

1905 French law on the separation of Church and State

The 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and State was passed by the Chamber of Deputies on 9 December 1905. Enacted during the Third Republic, it established state secularism in France...

, the Jewish congregations of France formed themselves into Jewish liturgical associations under an umbrella organisation called the Union of Jewish Congregations of France, which kept the name Central Consistory.