1. Napoleon III’s Liberal Empire

2. What was it? The liberalisation of domestic policy from around 1859
Napoleon had ruled autocratically and extravagantly for the first half of his reign but the late 1850’s saw a marked change
Key features – political amnesty 1859, increased budget power for parliament 1860, trade unions made legal 1868 etc.
Greater press freedom -Official reports of debates in parliament could be published for the first time. Newspapers could publish these but had to do so verbatim.
Free trade and free trade treaties – economic liberalism
In January 1870, he appointed opposition leader Emile Ollivier as head of a ministry responsible to parliament.
A new liberal constitution was announced in May 1870, but by then the die was cast.

3. Reasons
The influence of his half-brother, Morny, the President of the Corps Legislatif. He believed that Napoleon would be better off adopting a qualified parliamentary system.
Rising unpopularity as a result of the Italian war and the commercial treaty with Britain.
His extravagantly expensive foreign policy and public works had created rapidly mounting government debts.
Napoleon and Haussmann believed that the budget deficits would be offset by subsequent high profits and the benefits of economic growth. This did not work.
By 1860, the annual deficit was about 100 million francs and the cumulative debt had reached nearly 1 billion.
The Emperor had full control of the budget and therefore was open to full blame
He needed to restore the confidence of the business world, and to involve the legislature to share responsibility.
Opposition was growing – in 1863 elections 32 seats won by Napoleon’s opponents – the ‘Third Party ‘was formed out of these opponents

4. What did Napoleon hope to achieve?
He hoped to revive parliamentary life, foster the creation of political parties, and exercise his power indirectly, by working through the parliament.
Instead all major parties seized upon Napoleon's concessions as an opportunity to demand wider powers, and the revival of parliamentary institutions.
Consequently, real change only began to take place in 1867 when Emile Ollivier and Adolphe Thiers announced that they were ready to cooperate with Napoleon if he would allow more reform.
Controls on newspapers and public meetings were to be relaxed further, but the Bill was held up for more than a year.
Criticism and satire of Napoleon became more and more common. When in Prefect of Paris and architect of the renovation of Paris Haussmann asked for retrospective approval of a loan of 400 million francs, Napoleon’s popularity hit rock- bottom.
In January 1870, he appointed Emile Ollivier as head of a ministry responsible to the Chamber.
A new very liberal constitution was announced in May 1870, but by then the die was cast.

5. Possible Interpretations
He was a genuine liberal who had always intended to liberalise once the crisis on was resolved
He was too old and ill to rule autocratically
He was an opportunist trying to cling to power and trying to build a new base of support to protect his legacy and the empire
He was delivering his earlier promises to the workers
He was desperately trying to absolve himself from blame for the financial crisis

6. Why did the Liberal Empire Fail?
He spent far too much on the economy, the redevelopment of cities and foreign policy.
He refused to allow any criticism or even discussion of his policies for too long
The Liberal Empire was in effect a step back to the unpopular limited democracy of the July Monarchy only on a wider franchise
He relied on the glamour of the Bonaparte name to get by and by 1870 this bubble had burst.
His reforms were too little and too late.
The ‘Liberal Empire’ from 1860 was not liberal enough. He still maintained ultimate say and therefore was easy to blame for government failures
He annoyed important elements of his support base - Sections of the business classes were angered by free trade with Britain and the Catholic Church by the appointment of Duruy, a secularist, as Minister of Education.
Foreign policy disasters destroyed any achievements in the domestic realm