other · France and the Low Countries
Second French Empire
Origins
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of the French Second Republic, seized dictatorial power in a coup in December 1851. A plebiscite approved restoring the empire, and on 2 December 1852 he became Emperor Napoleon III.
Rule and society
The early empire was authoritarian, with censorship and managed elections. Baron Haussmann rebuilt Paris with boulevards and sewers, and railways, banks and department stores expanded. France fought in the Crimea, helped unify Italy and gained Nice and Savoy in 1860, but the Mexican intervention failed. From 1860 the regime liberalised, becoming a parliamentary 'Liberal Empire' under Émile Ollivier in 1870.
Decline and legacy
Provoked by Bismarck, France declared war on Prussia in July 1870. Napoleon III was captured at Sedan on 2 September, and two days later the French Third Republic was proclaimed in Paris. He died in exile in England in 1873.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Second French Empire was part of French Empire1852 CE – 1870 CE
- Second Mexican Empire was a protectorate of Second French Empire1863 CE – 1867 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Second French Empire. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/second-french-empire
- MLA
- “Second French Empire.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/second-french-empire. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Second French Empire.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/second-french-empire.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Second French Empire’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/second-french-empire (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻