Editing History of Europe (section)

====France under Napoleon III====
{{Main|Second French Empire}}
[[File:Barricade Voltaire Lenoir Commune Paris 1871.jpg|thumb|[[Paris Commune]], 1871]]
[[Napoleon III]], nephew of Napoleon I, parlayed his famous name and to widespread popularity across France. He returned from exile in 1848, promising to stabilize the chaotic political situation.<ref>[[Napoleon II]] (1811–1832) was the son of Napoleon I but he never actually ruled.</ref> He was elected president and maneuvered successfully to name himself Emperor, a move approved later by a large majority of the French electorate. The first part of his Imperial term brought many important reforms, facilitated by Napoleon's control of the lawmaking body, the government, and the [[French Armed Forces]]. Hundreds of old Republican leaders were arrested and deported. Napoleon controlled the media and censored the news. In compensation for the loss of freedom, Napoleon gave the people new hospitals and asylums, beautified and modernized Paris, and built a modern railroad and transportation system that dramatically improved commerce. The economy grew, but industrialization was not as rapid as Britain, and France depended largely on small family-oriented firms as opposed to the large companies that were emerging in the United States and Germany. France was on the winning side in the [[Crimean War]] (1854–56), but after 1858 Napoleon's foreign-policy was less and less successful. Foreign-policy blunders finally destroyed his reign in 1870–71. His empire collapsed after being defeated in the [[Franco-Prussian War]].<ref>Napoleon III." in Anne Commire, ed. ''Historic World Leaders'', (Gale, 1994) [https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1616000030/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=GPS&xid=828abdad online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229073725/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=GPS&u=wikipedia&id=GALE{{!}}K1616000030&v=2.1&it=r&sid=GPS&asid=828abdad |date=29 December 2022 }}.</ref><ref>J.P.T. Bury, ''Napoleon III and the Second Empire'' (1968).</ref>

France became a republic, but until the 1880s there was a strong popular demand for monarchy. [[Anti-Catholicism in France|Hostility to the Catholic Church]] became a major issue, as France battle between secular and religious forces well into the 20th century, with the secular elements usually more successful. The [[French Third Republic]] emerged in 1871.<ref>Denis Brogan, ''The French Nation: From Napoleon to Pétain, 1814–1940'' (1957).</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R68588, Otto von Bismarck.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Otto von Bismarck]], Chancellor of Germany]]