Louis Napoleon used the popularity of his uncle Napoleon to win hearts and minds, and finally ascended to the throne in 1852, re-establishing the imperial system in France. However, the rebuilding of the empire was not the end for the ambitious Napoleon III, but only the beginning of his great cause, so how did Napoleon III transform his country, and what did he and his empire bring to France?
First, the superficial prosperity
Napoleon III's move to rebuild the French Empire naturally caused panic among the ministers of the interior and other European countries, especially other European rulers, who feared the appearance of another Napoleon who would attempt to conquer Europe, and therefore looked at the nascent empire with cold eyes and even hostility. Napoleon III was naturally aware of this, and in order to present a new image of the emperor, he did not hold a coronation ceremony, and then showed friendship and peace to other European countries. As early as 1851, Louis publicly proclaimed that "empire means peace".
In order to show friendship, Napoleon III always tried to draw closer to Queen Victoria of England diplomatically, and during the 1855 Paris Exposition, he prepared a lavish reception for the queen and provided a high level of attention, and the queen's doubts about the French emperor were dispelled. In his view of the situation in Europe, Napoleon also shared the idea of a balance of power, believing that there should be no hegemony in Europe. From this point of view, Napoleon III did learn from his uncle's defeat that year, and knew that it would be unwise to lead France to challenge all of Europe with its own military prowess.
Exposition Universelle de Paris 1855
Under Napoleon III, France made great strides towards modernization. France taxed industrialists much less than England and Prussia, and with this advantage, France attracted numerous industries and made considerable profits. In addition, compared to other countries, France's financial industry is very developed, and the combination of industry and finance has greatly promoted the country's industrialization process. Napoleon III was also pleased to see this expansion take place, believing that the growth of national wealth was an expression of national strength and a boost to national pride. In order to encourage economic development, Napoleon III signed free trade treaties with other European countries to promote domestic industrial and commercial development and attract more foreign capital to France.
Free trade advocate Adam Smith
The prosperity of the Second French Empire is most intuitively reflected in the transformation of French cities. Napoleon III replanned Paris, the roads were widened, a large number of old buildings were demolished and replaced with new ones, sewer and gas pipelines were built under the city, parks and green spaces were built in the city, and large buildings such as the Paris Opera were built during this period. It is no exaggeration to say that Paris was completely renovated during the Second Empire. In addition to Paris, large cities such as Lille and Lyon have also undergone drastic changes.
Paris Opera
Second, the price of prosperity
However, under the semblance of prosperity, Napoleon III's empire also had many social problems. First of all, there was much criticism among the French elite about Napoleon III's proclamation of the emperor. In 1852, after Napoleon III became emperor, Hugo changed his attitude of admiration and wrote a political booklet "Little Napoleon" to criticize Napoleon III. Hugo was even forced into exile to escape Napoleon III's pursuit. Second, Napoleon III's repression of political freedom, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly made the French people very unhappy. Moreover, the modernization of the Second French Empire was not perfect, and although the free trade treaty boosted French industry and commerce, it naturally exposed domestic enterprises to competition from abroad, which many factory owners and workers resented.
Hugo in exile
Finally, despite Napoleon III's claim to maintain peace, there were four wars in the eighteen years of the French Empire: the Crimean War, the Italian War, the Mexican War, and finally the Franco-Prussian War. Although, unlike his uncle, the Second French Empire was never united against all of Europe, the country was affected by the war. With the exception of the Crimean War, the results of the other three wars were unsatisfactory, notably the disastrous Mexican and Franco-Prussian wars. In addition, we should also note Napoleon III's aggression against colonial and semi-colonial countries, especially the great damage caused to China by the Anglo-French forces in the Second Opium War. It can be said that a large part of the apparent prosperity of the Second French Empire was also achieved by plundering and oppressing other countries.
The Old Summer Palace was burned
3. The dream of the empire is shattered
In the late 60s of the 19th century, the situation in the Second French Empire gradually deteriorated, the domestic workers went on strike frequently, and Napoleon III's approval rating was gradually declining, for which he had to carry out some political liberalization reforms. But what worried Napoleon III even more was the situation in Europe, and the rise of Prussia in Central Europe made many people realize that the original political structure in Europe would be broken and that French interests would be harmed. Under both domestic and foreign pressure, Napoleon III made the decision to declare war on Prussia, and it was this decision that ultimately buried his own political career.
The Austro-Prussian War marked the rise of Prussia in Central Europe
Despite the high demand for a declaration of war on Prussia in France, France was not prepared for war in reality, and the French army was at a disadvantage, both in terms of the number of soldiers and in terms of military equipment. Sure enough, as soon as the war began, France was defeated one after another. Eventually, Napoleon III surrendered to the Prussian army at the Battle of Sedan and the Franco-Prussian War ended with a catastrophic defeat for France and the end of the Second French Empire.
Napoleon III (center) surrenders
On March 1, 1871, six months after the end of the Battle of Sedan, the new French Parliament passed a decision to depose Napoleon III. On 19 March, France signed a peace agreement with the newly established German Empire, freeing Napoleon III, who had been imprisoned since the Battle of Sedan as a symbol of the armistice between Germany and France. Napoleon III went into exile after his release and spent the last months of his life suffering from illness before dying on 9 January 1873.
Wen Shijun said
Similar to his uncle, Napoleon III's imperial dream was shattered by his defeat in the war, and he himself died in exile. In the almost 20 years of the Second French Empire, France did make progress in many ways, and this was the work of Napoleon III. But we should not forget Napoleon III's exploitation and oppression of the colonial and semi-colonial peoples, the restrictions on domestic freedoms and the sacrifice of the domestic workers, which caused him to lose the support of the working class and the parliament, and Napoleon III's defeat would have been doomed even without the Franco-Prussian War.
bibliography
Pierre Bronda, The Napoleonic Dynasty: 300 Years of the Bonaparte Family, translated by Jiang Fan and Hu Shiyun, Yanshan Publishing House, Beijing, 2019.
Pierre de la Laureau, Napoleon III and the Second French Empire, translated by Zhang Baoyuan, China Pictorial Publishing House Co., Ltd., 2018.
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