NewsRescue
According to the findings of a recent poll, a sizable proportion of modern France approves of the legacy left behind by Napoleon Bonaparte, the French emperor and military commander.
Since its Paris premiere earlier this month, the Ridley Scott-directed film ‘Napoleon’ has received lacklustre reviews, particularly in France, with the country’s edition of the magazine GQ dismissing the picture as “deeply clumsy and unnatural.”
While critics have voiced varying perspectives about Napoleon’s portrayal on film, the film has also revealed a more nuanced understanding of the former French leader and military commander’s activities more than two centuries after his death.
Some members of the modern French population have long criticized Napoleon’s record of misogyny, imperialism, and racism – he reintroduced slavery in France some eight years after it was abolished – but other elements of his rule have come into sharper focus. And according to a recent poll, many people in the EU country approve of his long-term legacy.
According to a recent poll performed by Ifop-Fiducial for Sud Radio, 74% of individuals believe Napoleon’s efforts benefited France, a 4% increase from a comparable survey in 1969.
Of Napoleon’s specific impacts, 40% say that creating the Civil Code, often known as the Napoleonic Code, was his greatest success. The Civil Code, first published in 1804, overhauled French laws to better reflect the values of the French Revolution.
Another 20% complimented Napoleon’s impact and reform on French education standards, up from 5% in 1969. Modern France, on the other hand, tends to maintain a less favourable opinion of Napoleon’s military achievements, with only 31% of those polled enjoying his victories on the battlefield, compared to 50% who do not.
Meanwhile, 25% of those polled thought Marine Le Pen and Nicolas Sarkozy were the closest political personalities to Napoleon in modern-day France.
In contrast, according to a separate YouGov poll conducted last month, one in every three French individuals (34%) has a generally good impression of Napoleon. One in every five people (21%) dislike the former French emperor.