[hider=The French Empire]
[b][u]Government[/u][/b]

[b]Name:[/b] French Empire
[b]Flag/Badge:[/b]
[img]http://cdn.simplesite.com/i/26/75/282319406436152614/i282319414652424593._szw480h1280_.jpg[/img]
[b]Head of State:[/b] Napoléon III
[b]Head of Government:[/b] Napoléon III
[b]Ideology:[/b] Authoritarian bonapartism and liberalism

[b][u]Military[/u][/b]

[b]Army Numbers:[/b] 60,000 permanent professionals, 600,000 trained reserves.

[b]Navy Numbers:[/b] 

Levant Fleet (Mediterranean Sea): 22 ships of the line, 10 frigates, 142 various smaller ships.

Ponant Fleet (Atlantic Ocean and English Channel): 30 ships of the line, 20 frigates, 113 various smaller ships.

[b]Army Equipment:[/b]

- Minié rifle
- Modèle 1842 St. Etienne Percussion Musket

- Colt Walker revolver
- Percussion pistols

- Muzzle-loading cannons
- Muzzle-loading howitzers
- Mortars

[b]Naval Ship Types:[/b]

- Ships of the line
- Frigates
- Brigs
- Avisos
- Sloops
- Bomb ships

[b][u]History, Expansion, and Economics[/u][/b]

[b]History:[/b]

In 1840, Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, Prince of Holland and heir to the French imperial throne, takes advantage of the patriotic fervor following the return of the Emperor’s ashes from Saint Helena and stages a military coup in Boulogne-sur-Mer from London with the intent to march on Paris. He learned from his failed attempt in Strasbourg in 1936 which made him known to the public and prepared carefully, bribing the commander of the garrison and his officers in advance. Using the initial impetus gained from rallying the 42nd Line Regiment to his cause, Bonaparte leads them southwards as the Gendarmerie forces who attempt to arrest him flee when the soldiers of the 42nd open fire on them. A portion of the local Garde Nationale defects to him as well, the others withdrawing in confusion.

Louis-Napoléon rallies more and more support as his growing army closes in on Paris. King Louis-Philippe’s men who were sent to stop him fail to do so, joining Louis-Napoleon instead and shouting “Vive l’Empereur”, long live the Emperor, in a repeat of the events of Napoléon’s return from Elba in 1815.

The king panics and flees the capital to Belgium. The defenders of Paris lay down their weapons and Louis-Napoléon makes a triumphant entrance into the city. What is left of the monarchy crumbles and the French Second Empire is born.

Louis-Napoléon, now known as Napoléon III, Emperor of the French, is much like his uncle yet so different. He admires England and wants to emulate English modernity as he seeks to enact policies reminiscent of bonapartism, but also humanism and social christianism, along with authoritarian liberalism. Bank systems and infrastructures are modernized, railways are built, the army is reformed. Despite both monarchist and republican opposition, the Emperor is massively popular with rural France and enjoys the support of rich bourgeois, small towns residents, and workers alike.

Now, France looks to the outside. While the Emperor wishes for closer ties with Britain, France’s defeat at the hands of its old enemies, Austria, Prussia, and Russia, is neither forgotten nor forgiven. Nevertheless, the Second Empire so far proves to be more interested in trade, prosperity and influence than vengeance.

[b]Territory:[/b] No change from OTL

[b]Economic Description:[/b]  France produces and exports wheat and cereals, wine, timber and wooden products, machines, steel, and textiles in large quantities.

[b]Historical Claims:[/b] France wishes to increase its influence in Western Germany, Italy, North Africa, and the Middle East. Meanwhile, expeditions sail to Asia and Africa with goals to open new trade routes and establish trading posts in faraway lands.

France is currently embroiled in a war against Emir Abdelkader ibn Muhieddin's djihad in Algeria. Most Algerain tribes have turned on the Emir and joined forces with the French, and Abdelkader's defeat seems inevitable.

[/hider]