History talk about Napoleon III
Saturday 11th February 2017
Venue: Alliance Française de Cambridge
Category: Talks & Classes
One Liner: History talk
Price Info: Free
Time Info: 2pm
No booking required
Napoléon III has often been ridiculed, especially under the III rd Republic which was established after his downfall. But over the last decades, historians have reassessed his time in power. Victor Hugo, author of Les Misérables did contribute to this negative image by calling him Napoléon Le Petit.
One of Napoléon III’s mistakes might have been that he was ahead of his time. Indeed, unlike many of his French counterparts, he had spent many years abroad. But he was also often indecisive and was not always firm enough with his entourage, especially his troublesome Bonaparte family. His life reads like a novel of adventure: exiled at the age of ten, conspirator, adventurer, prisoner, fugitive, but also the first president France ever had before becoming emperor at the age of forty-four, until finally dying in exile.
Under his reign, France underwent tremendous industrial, social, economic, cultural and societal transformation. Véronique Fournier, teacher at the Alliance Française, will look at the personal life of Napoléon III but will also analyse his policies and the changes that the country experienced at the dawn of the modern era.
For further information, do not hesitate to contact us by email at info.alliance.cam@gmail.com or call us on 01223 561 854.
Error Reporting: Contact Alliance Francaise, the publisher of this event.