Legal and administrative change: the Napoleonic codes; the prefects,…

The idea

Napoleon transformed French administration and law to centralise power and ensure stability. The Napoleonic Codes (notably the 1804 Civil Code) unified French law, confirming revolutionary land settlements and equality before the law, but reasserted patriarchal authority over women and children. Administratively, Napoleon established a highly centralised system using Prefects, appointed directly by the First Consul, to govern departments, collect taxes, and enforce conscription. Control was maintained through a formidable police apparatus led by Fouché, utilising spies, censorship, and arbitrary imprisonment to suppress royalist and Jacobin opposition, though resistance, plots, and conscription evasion persisted.

What earns the marks

• Explain the dual nature of the Civil Code (1804): consolidating revolutionary gains like the abolition of feudalism while reversing women's rights.
• Analyse the role of Prefects in centralising administrative power, acting as the direct agents of the central government in the departments.
• Evaluate the methods of control employed by the Ministry of General Police under Joseph Fouché, including the network of informants and censorship.
• Assess how legal and administrative changes collectively served to eliminate political opposition and secure Napoleon's authoritarian grip on France.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Claiming the Napoleonic Code advanced women's rights.

  Put it right: State that the Code was highly patriarchal, reducing women to the status of minors dependent on fathers or husbands.

• Confusing Prefects with elected revolutionary officials.

  Put it right: Emphasise that Prefects were centrally appointed administrators, representing a shift away from revolutionary democratic decentralisation.

• Assuming the police ensured total compliance without resistance.

  Put it right: Highlight that despite Fouché's surveillance, spies, and censorship, resistance, plots, and conscription evasion persisted.

Exam tips

• Use the Civil Code of 1804 as a primary example when evaluating the extent to which Napoleon preserved or destroyed the principles of the Revolution.
• Link the administrative role of the Prefects directly to Napoleon's ability to efficiently raise armies through conscription and collect taxes.
• When discussing control, contrast the overt military control with the covert surveillance network managed by Fouché to provide a nuanced analysis.