While the reforms to the constitution were major, he also transformed the way that local governments worked. Initially he used the constitution, to give him direct and supreme control over France, and also ensured the safety of his leadership and administration. He did not stop there; he wanted to be able to have control of all the resources across the country, willing to do as he pleases. For this to happen he would need to make severe changes to the administration system and this is what he did. He moved the power from smaller communes to larger departments, establishing a clear chain of command; this was, at the time considered extremely revolutionary, which Napoleon utilized heavily. As well as the idea of large departments, he also introduced Prefects, these were governors placed in charge of each department, and below the Prefects were various civil officials such as the mayor. These Prefects were personally appointed by Napoleon, ensuring that only those who were loyal and obedient to Napoleon were appointed.
The next major set of reforms he makes are those considering religion. During the years of the revolution when the Jacobins were in power, the government followed an atheist policy and attacked Christianity heavily. Napoleon reintroduced Catholicism as the main religion in France; this was different from the era of the Ancien Regime, when Catholicism was the only religion in France. Napoleon signed the concordat with the pope in 1801. Both the pope and Napoleon had much to gain from the concordat. The previous French government had tended to ignore or turn a blind eye to the practice of Catholicism in the country even though the law forbade it, much of the country was practicing Catholicism, by signing the concordat Napoleon stands to gain much support from the catholic extremists, such as those in the Vendee but stands to loose little as most of the country was catholic and practising Catholicism anyhow. The pope had much to gain in the sense that any influence in France is better than none, by signing the concordat the pope gained some influence in France. This again was a way of gaining support from the people, making the people think that he is doing what is best for the country when in reality he is choosing the best course of action that suits him and his administration. By legalising Catholicism in the country, his popularity among the people rose. Napoleon realised the advantages of this, he could use the church as a method of control amongst the people. He could distribute his message to the whole of France via the churches, considering most of the country was catholic and attended church regularly.
Considered one of Napoleons greatest legacies amongst the people of France was The Civil Code. It was drawn up during 1800 but took another three years to actually introduce. It was an attempt to unify the legal structure of the whole country. As it stood when Napoleon came to power, laws varied from town to town, this was quite the opposite to Napoleon’s idea of centralization. The code made sure that all the people of France had equality in the eyes of the law, religious freedom and a separation of the state and church. It kept the main ideals of the revolution; this was a reason that contributed to the popularity of the civil code. Whilst several aspects of the civil code were considered liberal, there were also many illiberal aspects. This included a harsh attitude to all workers, echoing Napoleons personal dislike for workers. He gained much support for the civil code. Napoleon now had an efficient civil system all centralised around him, another example of Napoleon securing power through his reforms.
The financial situation of the country was bad; it had been this way for a very long time. Napoleon, after coming into power had to tackle the financial hurdle head on. Napoleon knew that he had to concentrate on economic reform if he is to achieve his goals. He needed money to carry out his foreign policy; Napoleon was an ambitious man, he needed large sums of money to carry out his various wars and conquests. He also understood that a stable economy would to lead to a Domestic stabilization, if the economy was stable and good then he would gain support from the people. In 1802 Napoleon achieved something that had not been done for many years; he managed to balance the budget. He managed this through various reforms. He made the tax system more efficient, he did this by creating a centralized tax system, this meant that there was less chance of corruption amongst the ranks. This way Napoleon was receiving more money through taxes without actually reverting to increase taxation. He also introduced stealth taxes, much like the “Gabelle”, which was a tax on salt during the Ancien Regime. To give France even greater financial stability, Napoleon created the Bank of France. All of these factors combined give France a great economic boost.
This is not to say that his reforms alone helped the finance of the country. France during this time was experiencing very good harvests and there was also no constant war to deal with. Add to this the land Napoleon was exploiting, Napoleon after invading a territory would make a large sum of money quickly by plundering it, then he would tax the territory heavily ensuring a steady flow of cash to his administration. These factors also contributed to the financial stability of the country. The success of his economic reforms meant that he could carry on financing his foreign policy and that he also gained much support from the people.
Education was another major area in which Napoleon dominated. By having direct control over the education system, he could influence the pupils of the schools, the future citizens of France. In 1795 Napoleon setup the Ecoles Centrales, this was a network of secondary schools around the country. The control of primary schools was handed over to the church, this again is an example of Napoleons concessions to the church to gain support from the masses. He wanted the secondary school system to have a strict National Curriculum and have an Authoritarian system, to teach the pupils what he wanted. He wanted them to be loyal to his regime; he also wanted to prepare them for administrative jobs in the government and as soldiers in the army. In 1802 he introduced the Lycees, which was mainly for the sons of the middle class of society, quite the way away from the roots of the revolution. The state appointed the teachers; this meant that Napoleon had control over who teaches and what is to be taught in schools. A ministry to control education across France was also introduced by Napoleon, the Imperial University, albeit the name it was not a university. The school system was under the direct control of Napoleon, he had great influence over the future citizens of France, he could tailor them to accept his regime and breed loyalty among the young.
Overall Napoleons reforms were aimed at increasing power but as a side-effect of this he also managed to aid the French people. He pursued any action necessary to make sure that he and his administration gained support. Often at times he intentionally or unintentionally also aided the French people through his reforms, the civil code is an example of this.
