France: First Empire (May 1804-April 1814 & March-June 1815)

Premier Empire

Last modified: 2003-10-04 by ivan sache
Keywords: first empire (france) | premier empire | napoleon i | eagle (yellow) | thunderbolt (yellow) | bee |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors

by António Martins

• National flag
• Imperial standard
• The bees as Imperial symbol

See also:

• France
• France: Historical flags
• France: Historical chronology since 1792
• France: Regiment flags under the First Empire

National flag

On 2 December 1804, the First Consul (Premier Consul) Napoléon Bonaparte was proclaimed Emperor of the French (Empereur des Français) as Napoléon I.
In 1814, France was invaded by a coalition led by Prussia and Napoléon I abdicated on 4-6 April. The dethroned emperor was exiled on Elba Island (Italy).
In March 1815, Napoléon escaped from Elba and reestablished the Empire in France. The Empire lasted during the so-called period of Cent-Jours (Hundred-Days), which ended with the defeat of Waterloo (18 June). The Emperor abdicated for the second time on 22 June, and was exiled to St. Helens island, where he died on 5 May 1821.

The national flag used during the First Empire was the blue-white-red Tricolore flag.

Ivan Sache, 16 December 2001