Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte comes to power, and the rebuilding of Paris begins (1848–1852) Haussmann's renovation of Paris

napoléon iii in 1855

king louis-philippe overthrown in february revolution of 1848. on 10 december 1848, louis-napoléon bonaparte, nephew of napoléon bonaparte, won first direct presidential elections ever held in france overwhelming 74.2 percent of votes cast. elected largely because of famous name, because of promise try end poverty , improve lives of ordinary people. though had been born in paris, had lived little in city; age of seven, had lived in exile in switzerland, england, , united states, , 6 years in prison in france attempting overthrow king louis-philippe. had been impressed london, wide streets, squares , large public parks. in 1852 gave public speech declaring: paris heart of france. let apply our efforts embellishing great city. let open new streets, make working class quarters, lack air , light, more healthy, , let beneficial sunlight reach everywhere within our walls . president, supported building of first subsidised housing project workers in paris, cité-napoléon, on rue rochechouart. proposed completion of rue de rivoli louvre hôtel de ville, completing project begun uncle napoléon bonaparte, , began project transform bois de boulogne (boulogne forest) large new public park, modelled after hyde park in london larger, on west side of city. wanted both these projects completed before end of term in 1852, became frustrated slow progress made prefect of seine, berger. prefect unable move work forward on rue de rivoli enough, , original design bois de boulogne turned out disaster; architect, jacques ignace hittorff, had designed place de la concorde louis-philippe, followed louis-napoléon s instructions imitate hyde park , designed 2 lakes connected stream new park, forgot take account difference of elevation between 2 lakes. if had been built, 1 lake have emptied other.

at end of 1851, shortly before louis-napoléon bonaparte s term expired, neither rue de rivoli nor park had progressed far. wanted run re-election in 1852, blocked new constitution, limited him 1 term. majority of members of parliament voted change constitution, not two-thirds majority required. prevented running again, napoléon, of army, staged coup d état on 2 december 1851 , seized power. opponents arrested or exiled. following year, on 2 december 1852, declared himself emperor, adopting throne name napoléon iii.