ABSTRACT
Immediately following the French Revolution, France went through a period of political instability and lost much of its status as a world power. However, thanks to the genius and military victories of Napoleon I, the first emperor of France, the country regained its strength and power during his reign. The Sun King believed he received his power directly from God, which explained the manner in which he lived and why "the fetish character of every act in the etiquette was clearly developed at the time of Louis XIV". From an early age, Louis Napoleon felt the need to fulfill an epic mission, an idea mostly nourished by his mother, Hortense, and later reinforced by his wife, Eugenie. The Napoleon III apartments were inaugurated on February 11, 1861. Used as reception areas, they had been fitted out in the new Louvre to house the Ministry of State.
