Paris under Napoleon Each of the twelve arrondissements had its own mayor, but their power was limited to enforcing the decrees of Napoleon's ministers. After he crowned himself Emperor on December 2, 1804, Napoleon began a series of projects to make Paris into an imperial capital to rival ancient Rome. He built monuments to French military glory, including the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, the column in Place Vendôme, and the future church of the Madeleine, intended as a temple to military heroes; and began the Arc de Triomphe. To improve the circulation of traffic in central Paris, he built a wide new
Coronation of the French monarch by the pope, who then seated himself upon a throne to the left of the altar. Following this Napoleon was anointed by the pontiff three times on the head and hands, with the new emperor reportedly yawning several times during this act and the remainder of the ceremony. The high point of the ceremony came when Napoleon advanced to the altar, took the crown and placed it upon his own head. Replacing this with a laurel wreath of gold made in the ancient Roman style, he then crowned his wife, who knelt before him. Six months later, Napoleon was crowned