This year, in 2021, France commemorates 200 years since the death of General, First Consul, and Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.
His military successes are often discussed, but the most famous Corsican also managed to shape modern France from the ruins of the Revolution. Listen to how he accomplished it.
Napoleon rose to power thanks to his military successes. After his campaign in Egypt, he became First Consul, and the French regime transformed from a republic into a military dictatorship. There were three consuls in total, but even then, the other two were mockingly referred to as "the armrests of Napoleon’s chair.". The change in the state regime was approved by the French people in a plebiscite. All it took was one day to count the votes from Paris. The rest of the ballots were allegedly thrown into the fireplace by Napoleon’s brother. Thanks to revolutionary changes, France’s ruling class was transformed. The nobility was replaced by wealthy bourgeois and merchants. These new elites formed the pool from which the regime drew its bureaucrats—key figures Napoleon relied upon. And this new society required a new Civil Code.
Women Forever Minors and Gay Rights. Pre-revolutionary France had several hundred different legal systems, and this chaotic web needed to be unified to ensure the smooth functioning of the state. Napoleon established dozens of commissions made up of legal experts to work on this. He himself focused primarily on resolving contentious issues.
For the first time, laws in France were compiled into a clear, single code. In the spirit of the revolution, all citizens were declared equal before the law—except for French women, who were labeled "eternal minors" and needed a male guardian to conduct legal matters. Thanks to Napoleon’s deputy, homosexuality also ceased to be a criminal offense. The Code Civil has lasted more than 200 years. The French have never rushed to revise it and often spend decades discussing changes.
Changes for the Living and the Dead. Under Napoleon, the administrative division of the country, the police system, the bureaucratic apparatus, and especially higher education all underwent reform. A new artistic style also emerged—Empire (empire style). Even burial practices were reformed.
For hygienic and economic reasons, cemeteries were moved outside of cities. Burial grounds were divided by faith to avoid conflicts among the bereaved. Each deceased person was allotted a specific amount of space in the cemetery, as well as a time limit for how long they could remain buried in their plot. Additional aspects of modern France’s organization are discussed in the History Plus program by associate professor Daniela Tinková of Charles University, and legal experts Jaromír Císař and David Elischer.
Author: Jiří Zeman. The article was published on January 2, 2021, on the website plus.rozhlas.cz, where you can also listen to the full audio recording of the program.
