Napoleon, although his main achievements centered on areas such as administration, had other remarkable, although minor, achievements in France. He improved the appearance of French cities such as Paris by building bridges and canals and by planting trees at the sides of roads to protect them from the sun. This aided the beauty of Paris as it is today. Napoleon also reformed the tax system, w

What is considered to be Napoleon's most significant achievement for France was his establishment of the 'Napoleonic Code'. This was the codifying of all France's civil, commercial and criminal law. This marked a trend to centralize and organize power on a national level. This code was successful as it formed the basis of many European legal systems. This 'code' was requested in many grievances, which were sent to Louis XVI and was demanded by the revolutionaries'. Thus Napoleon appeared to be truly the "heir of the revolution" as he had so claimed. The code took into account issues that the revolution had stood for, such as equality before the law and freedom of religion.

Prior to the French Revolution, France was bankrupt. Napoleon undertook vast financial reforms upon coming to power. The French currency was stabilized and was the most stable in Europe until after World War 1. In 1802, Napoleon was successful in achieving the balancing of the budget in France. Taxes came from reasonable sources - taxes were raised on alcohol and tobacco.

When Napoleon was defeated, there was a turning back towards the old order. Many of the achievements and changes that Napoleon gave France and Europe disappeared. The Grand Coalition, consisting of Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia, restored the old French monarchy, which had been abolished by the French revolution. Napoleon betrayed France when he escaped from his prison on the Isle of Elba. In 1814, the Coalition had treated France lightly - she was allowed to keep her frontiers of 1792 (including the land she won in conquest) and was not required to pay for the cost of war. There had been constant warfare for twenty - five years and the French people appeared to be restless for peace. However, all peace plans ere ruined when Napoleon returned from Elba and started the battle of Waterloo. In the second treaty of Paris (1815), France was treated much more harshly. Her frontiers were restricted to that of 1790 and she had to pay seven hundred million francs - the cost of war. The German Confederation of thirty-nine states remained, but Germany was still divided, ruled by monarchs and still under Austrian presidency. In addition, despite Napoleon's attempts to give Italy unification, Italy was recognized as no more than a "geographical expression".

A further achievement by Napoleon was his reforming of the administrative system in France. The Consulate inherited the Council of State from the revolution. He improved it's handling of administration and justice issues in France. He used it to help weaken legislative assemblies and ministries. This reform ensured that Ministers were prevented from acquiring their own authority. Local government was practically abolished and prefects were appointed to carry out administration in each French region. Government chose prefects, Mayors and Ministers. The administrative system was Napoleon's most permanent legacy in France and survived until very recently. The revolution had started moves towards administrative reform, by abolishing institutions

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Approximate Word count = 2075
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)