Napoleon III
Key Facts
- First President of the French Republic elected by universal suffrage in December 1848, with 74% of the vote
- Coup of December 2, 1851: dissolution of the National Assembly and imprisonment of opponents
- Proclaims the Second Empire on December 2, 1852 and becomes Napoleon III
- Paris transformed by Baron Haussmann: grand boulevards, sewers, parks and modern railway stations
- Defeat at Sedan on September 2, 1870 against Prussia: the first French head of state taken prisoner of war
- Fall of the Second Empire on September 4, 1870; exiled in England, dies at Chislehurst in 1873
Biography
Charles-Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the future Napoleon III, was born on 20 April 1808 in Paris. Nephew of Napoleon I and son of Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland, he grew up in exile following the fall of the First Empire. Two failed coup attempts, at Strasbourg (1836) and Boulogne (1840), earned him imprisonment in the fort of Ham, from which he escaped in 1846 disguised as a workman. Returning to France after the Revolution of 1848, he exploited the prestige of the Napoleonic name to win election as President of the Republic by universal male suffrage in December 1848, with 74% of the vote.
His presidential term, limited to four years and non-renewable under the Constitution, was too short for his ambitions. On 2 December 1851, the anniversary of Austerlitz, he carried out a coup d'état, dissolved the National Assembly, had his opponents imprisoned and crushed republican resistance by force. A plebiscite approved his actions by over 92%. Less than a year later, on 2 December 1852, he proclaimed the Second Empire and took the title of Emperor of the French as Napoleon III.
The Second Empire (1852-1870) was a period of profound transformation for France. Economically, Napoleon III promoted the industrial revolution: the railway network tripled in size, modern banks such as Crédit Lyonnais and Société Générale were founded, and Paris was entirely reshaped by Baron Haussmann. Haussmann drove through the grand boulevards, built the parks, modern sewers and railway stations that give the capital its present form. Diplomatically, the Second Empire intervened in Crimea alongside Britain (1854-1856), in Italy in support of unification (1859) and attempted a Mexican adventure that ended in disaster (1862-1867).
Napoleon III's foreign policy ultimately precipitated his downfall. The astute Bismarck drew France into a diplomatic trap and isolated it before attacking. The Franco-Prussian War (July 1870) was a catastrophe: at Sedan, on 2 September 1870, Napoleon III was captured along with his entire army and taken prisoner. It was the first time a French head of state had been taken prisoner of war. In Paris, the Republic was proclaimed on 4 September 1870. The Empire collapsed without further fighting.
Released in March 1871, Napoleon III went into exile in England, at Chislehurst in Kent, where he died on 9 January 1873 following an operation for kidney stones. His reign, controversial in its methods (the coup, censorship), is nonetheless recognised as a period of decisive economic and urban modernisation for France. The Paris we know today owes much of its form to him.