It is clear to the President Louis…

It is clear to the President Louis Napoleon of France by 1851 that the majority is not ready to give him what he wants.

His alternatives are to step down in 1852, bereft of income and power, or to prepare a coup d'état.

Some members of his entourage have long urged the latter course; Louis-Napoleon now concurs, with some reluctance.

On the early morning of December 2, 1851, some seventy leading politicians are arrested, and the outlines of a new constitution to extend the president's term are proclaimed to the nation.

It restores manhood suffrage, sharply reduces the assembly's powers, and extends the president's term to ten years.

Although the coup comes off smoothly, it is followed by several days of agitation.

Barricades go up in the streets, crowds clash with troops and police in Paris and in the provinces, several hundred demonstrators are killed, and twenty-seven thousand are arrested.

A year later, Louis-Napoleon will declare himself as Emperor Napoleon III, ending the Second Republic.