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France 1815–70

The coup of 1851 and the making of the Second Empire

  • 3 things to know
  • AS Unit 2

Overview

The dispute over the constitution, the coup of 2 December, the plebiscites and the proclamation of the Empire.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Numbers

When did Louis Napoleon carry out his coup d'état?

Key term

How was the coup organised?

Key term

What did the coup proclamation offer the country?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    When did Louis Napoleon carry out his coup d'état?

    Model answer

    Louis Napoleon seized power on 2 December 1851, the anniversary of his uncle's coronation and of the victory at Austerlitz.

  2. 2

    How was the coup organised?

    Model answer

    Troops occupied Paris overnight, leading deputies and officers were arrested in their beds, the assembly was dissolved and the city was covered with proclamations.

  3. 3

    What did the coup proclamation offer the country?

    Model answer

    The proclamation restored universal male suffrage, promised a strong government answerable to the people and called a plebiscite on a new constitution.

  4. 4

    Was there resistance to the coup?

    Model answer

    Barricades in Paris were crushed with heavy loss on the boulevards, and risings in the centre and south were put down over the following weeks.

  5. 5

    How severe was the repression after the coup?

    Model answer

    Some twenty-six thousand people were arrested and about ten thousand were transported to Algeria, while opponents such as Victor Hugo went into exile.

  6. 6

    What was the result of the plebiscite of December 1851?

    Model answer

    About seven and a half million voters approved the coup and fewer than seven hundred thousand opposed it.

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