Editing Political history of France (section)

===Reign of Napoleon ===
{{main|First French Empire}}

[[File:Arc de Triomphe, Paris 5 February 2019.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Arc de Triomphe]]'', ordered by [[Napoleon]] in honour of the ''[[Grande Armée]]'', is one of several landmarks whose construction was started in Paris during the First French Empire.]]

[[File:Jacques-Louis David - The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Napoleon in his late thirties, in high-ranking white and dark blue military dress uniform.]]

The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, {{efn|Domestically styled as ''French Republic'' until 1808: compare the French franc minted in 1808 and 1809, as well as Article 1 of the Constitution of the Year XII.{{refn|{{cite web |title=Constitution de l'An XII – Empire – 28 floréal An XII |url=https://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/les-constitutions-dans-l-histoire/constitution-de-l-an-xii-empire-28-floreal-an-xii |website=Conseil constitutionnel}} which reads in English ''The Government of the Republic is vested in an Emperor, who takes the title of Emperor of the French.''}}}} then the French Empire after 1809 and also known as Napoleonic France, was the [[empire]] ruled by [[Napoleon]] Bonaparte, who established French [[hegemony]] over much of [[continental Europe]] at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from 18 May 1804 to 3 May 1814 and again briefly from 20 March 1815 to 7 July 1815.<ref name="gallica.bnf.fr">{{cite web |last=texte |first=France Auteur du |date=23 January 1804 |title=Bulletin des lois de la République française |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k4453562 |website=Gallica}}</ref>

Although France had already established a [[French colonial empire|colonial empire]] overseas since the early 17th century, the French state had remained a [[Early modern France|kingdom under the Bourbons]] and a [[French First Republic|republic]] after the [[French Revolution]]. Historians refer to Napoleon's regime as the ''First Empire'' to distinguish it from the restorationist ''[[Second French Empire|Second Empire]]'' (1852–1870) ruled by his nephew [[Napoleon III]]. The First French Empire is considered by some to be a "[[Republican empire]]."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The proclamation of Empire by the Sénat Conservateur |url=https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/the-proclamation-of-empire-by-the-senat-conservateur/ |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=napoleon.org}}</ref>

On 18 May 1804, Napoleon was granted the title [[Emperor of the French]] ({{Lang|fr|Empereur des Français}}) by the French {{Lang|fr|[[Sénat conservateur]]}} and was crowned on 2 December 1804,<ref>{{cite web |last=Thierry |first=Lentz |title=The Proclamation of Empire by the Sénat Conservateur |url=http://www.napoleon.org/en/reading_room/articles/files/lentz_proclamation.asp |access-date=15 August 2014 |website=napoleon.org |publisher=Fondation Napoléon}}</ref> signifying the end of the [[French Consulate]] and of the [[French First Republic]]. Despite his coronation, the state continued to be formally called the "French Republic" until October 1808. The Empire achieved military supremacy in mainland Europe through notable victories in the [[War of the Third Coalition]] against [[Austrian Empire|Austria]], [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], [[Russian Empire|Russia]], [[British Empire|Britain]] and allied states, notably at the [[Battle of Austerlitz]] in 1805.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Battle of Austerlitz |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/43578/Battle-of-Austerlitz |access-date=15 August 2014 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> French dominance was reaffirmed during the [[War of the Fourth Coalition]], at the [[Battle of Jena–Auerstedt]] in 1806 and the [[Battle of Friedland]] in 1807,<ref>{{cite web |last=Hickman |first=Kennedy |title=Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Friedland |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/napoleonic-wars-battle-of-friedland-2361111 |access-date=18 August 2023}}</ref> before Napoleon's final defeat at the [[Battle of Waterloo]] in 1815.

A series of wars, known collectively as the [[Napoleonic Wars]], extended French influence to much of Western Europe and into Poland. At its height in 1812, the French Empire had [[130 departments of the First French Empire|130 departments]], ruled over 44 million subjects, maintained an extensive military presence in [[Confederation of the Rhine|Germany]], [[Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)|Italy]], [[Spain under Joseph Bonaparte|Spain]], and [[Duchy of Warsaw|Poland]], and counted Austria and Prussia as nominal allies.<ref name="Lyon_Bloomsbury_1994">{{Cite book |title=Napoleon Bonaparte and the Legacy of the French Revolution |last=Lyons |first=Martyn |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=1994 |isbn=978-1349234363<!--eBook edition--> |pages=232|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ZBKEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA232 |author-link=Martyn Lyons |via=Google Books |url-access=limited}} (paper {{ISBN|978-0333572917}})</ref> Early French victories exported many ideological features of the Revolution throughout Europe: the introduction of the [[Napoleonic Code]] throughout the continent increased legal equality, established jury systems and legalized divorce, and [[Manorialism|seigneurial dues and seigneurial justice]] were abolished, as were [[Aristocracy (class)|aristocratic]] privileges in all places except Poland.{{sfn|Lyons|1994|pp=234–236}}

France's defeat in 1814 (and then again in 1815), marked the end of the First French Empire and the beginning of the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbon Restoration]].

====Napoleonic Wars====
{{main|Napoleonic Wars}}

The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of conflicts fought between the [[First French Empire]] under [[Napoleon]] (1804–1815), and a fluctuating array of [[Coalition forces of the Napoleonic Wars|European coalitions]]. The wars originated in political forces arising from the [[French Revolution]] (1789–1799) and from the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] (1792–1802) (the [[War of the First Coalition]] (1792–1797) and the [[War of the Second Coalition]] (1798–1802)), and produced a period of French domination over [[Continental Europe]]. There were seven Napoleonic Wars, five named after the coalitions that fought Napoleon, plus two named for their respective theatres: (i) the [[War of the Third Coalition]] (1803–1806), (ii) the [[War of the Fourth Coalition]] (1806–1807), (iii) the [[War of the Fifth Coalition]] (1809), (iv) the [[War of the Sixth Coalition]] (1813–1814), (v) the [[War of the Seventh Coalition]] (1815), (vi) the [[Peninsular War]] (1807–1814), and (vii) the [[French invasion of Russia]] (1812).

Upon realising the [[Coup of 18 Brumaire]], whereby he became the [[French Consulate|First Consul]] of France in 1799, Napoleon assumed control of the politically chaotic [[French First Republic]]. He then organised a financially stable French state with a strong bureaucracy and a professional army. War broke out soon after, with [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]] declaring war on France on 18 May 1803, ending the [[Treaty of Amiens|Peace of Amiens]], and forming a coalition made up of itself, [[Gustavian era|Sweden]], [[Russian Empire|Russia]], [[Kingdom of Naples|Naples]], and [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]]. [[Frank McLynn]] argues that Britain went to war in 1803 out of a "mixture of economic motives and national neuroses—an irrational anxiety about Napoleon's motives and intentions." The British fleet under Admiral [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Nelson]] decisively crushed the joint Franco-Spanish navy in the [[Battle of Trafalgar]] in October 1805. This victory secured British [[command of the sea|control of the seas]] and prevented a planned [[Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom|invasion of Britain]]. In December 1805, Napoleon defeated the allied Russo-[[Austrian Empire|Austrian]] army at [[Battle of Austerlitz|Austerlitz]], effectively ending the Third Coalition and forcing Austria to make peace. Concerned about increasing French power, [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] led the creation of the Fourth Coalition with Russia, [[Kingdom of Saxony|Saxony]], and Sweden, which resumed war in October 1806. Napoleon soon defeated the Prussians at [[Battle of Jena–Auerstedt|Jena-Auerstedt]] and the Russians at [[Battle of Friedland|Friedland]], bringing an [[Treaties of Tilsit|uneasy peace]] to the continent. The treaty failed to end the tension, and war broke out again in 1809, with the badly prepared Fifth Coalition, led by Austria. At first, the Austrians won a significant victory at [[Battle of Aspern-Essling|Aspern-Essling]], but were quickly defeated at [[Battle of Wagram|Wagram]].

Hoping to isolate and weaken Britain economically through his [[Continental System]], Napoleon launched an [[Invasion of Portugal (1807)|invasion of Portugal]], the only remaining British ally in continental Europe. After occupying [[Lisbon]] in November 1807, and with the bulk of French troops present in Spain, Napoleon seized the opportunity to turn against his former ally, depose the reigning [[Spanish royal family]] and declare his brother King of Spain in 1808 as [[Joseph Bonaparte|José I]]. The Spanish and Portuguese revolted with British support and expelled the French from Iberia in 1814 after [[Peninsular War|six years of fighting]].

Concurrently, Russia, unwilling to bear the economic consequences of reduced trade, routinely violated the Continental System, prompting Napoleon to launch a [[French invasion of Russia|massive invasion of Russia]] in 1812. The resulting campaign ended in disaster for France and the near-destruction of Napoleon's {{lang|fr|[[Grande Armée]]}}.

Encouraged by the defeat, Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia formed the Sixth Coalition and began a new campaign against France, decisively defeating Napoleon at [[Battle of Leipzig|Leipzig]] in October 1813 after several inconclusive engagements. The Allies then [[Campaign in north-east France (1814)|invaded France from the east]], while the Peninsular War [[Campaign in south-west France (1814)|spilled over into southwestern France]]. Coalition troops captured [[Battle of Paris (1814)|Paris]] at the end of March 1814 and [[Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814)|forced Napoleon to abdicate]] in April. He was exiled to the island of [[Principality of Elba|Elba]], and the [[Bourbon Restoration in France|Bourbons were restored to power]]. However, Napoleon escaped in February 1815, and reassumed control of France for around One [[Hundred Days]]. The allies formed the Seventh Coalition, defeated him at [[Battle of Waterloo|Waterloo]] in June 1815, and exiled him to the island of [[Saint Helena]], where he died six years later.<ref name="zamoy">{{Cite book |last=Zamoyski |first=Adam |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NqVKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT480 |title=Napoleon: A Life |year=2018 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-465-05593-7 |location=London |page=480 |access-date=7 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806042616/https://books.google.com/books?id=NqVKDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT480 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The wars had profound consequences on global history, including the spread of [[nationalism]] and [[liberalism]], advancements in [[Napoleonic Code#Codes in other countries|civil law]], the rise of Britain as the world's [[Pax Britannica|foremost naval and economic power]], the appearance of [[Decolonization of the Americas|independence movements]] in [[Spanish America]] and subsequent decline of the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] and [[Portuguese Empire]]s, the fundamental reorganization of German and Italian territories into larger states, and the introduction of radically new methods of conducting warfare. After the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the [[Congress of Vienna]] redrew Europe's borders and brought [[Concert of Europe|a relative peace]] to the continent, lasting until the [[Crimean War]] in 1853.