Napoleon’s influence over current day French society cannot be overstated. He included both positive and negative aspects, but overall, the positives far outweighed the negatives. Some might argue that his shutting down the rights of women was a big time negative, but that is far outweighed by the steps that he took in religious reform. In addition, his legal codes laid the foundation for the system that the French people use now. Though no autocratic system can be completely positive, he did some excellent things that are often overlooked in light of his legacy.
Response #2 This goes to show the level of dominance that Napoleon had over not only his people, but over all of the other rulers in Europe. He understood that the backbone of his control was the military might that he could enforce over just about everyone else. He had many successes in both the military arena and with his foreign policy, and all of it was designed to strengthen himself. Through all of this, that is the one thing that remains constant for Napoleon. It is the self-serving nature. Response #3
It can certainly be argued that Napoleon set Europe back hundreds of years through his policies and his insistence on fighting. Later, the European leaders figured out that it was in all of their best interests to work together and develop new ways to make money. With Napoleon doing everything in his power to smash Great Britain, this was nearly impossible. He did some positive things that must be recognized, but overall, his reluctance to change was what help Europe back. The only really good thing that he did for Europe was showing them that legal codes did not have to be so complicated in order to be effective.