Talks · 23 May 2026Neo-fascism and the ideology of desire: is Michel Clouscard still relevant?- 1:13:39Napoleon the Small, the man of coups d'état.
Napoléon III
Appears in 22 videos · 22 passages.
Summary
Dominique Pagani discusses Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte from two angles. The first is political: the prince-president who "tightens the screws" and restores arbitrary rule, the man of the coup d'état whom Hugo calls "Napoléon le Petit"1. He places him among the counter-revolutionary phases and describes him as the last explicit monarch in France2. His downfall at Sedan in 1870, where he is taken prisoner, ends an attempted return to sovereignty and leaves a lasting mark on the Third Republic. He comes back to him mainly when reading Nerval: the censorship that follows the coup, including an amendment against the serial novel, leads the writer to retitle "Angélique" and remove its political criticism3. The second angle is economic and heritage-related. He notes that this capitalism covers France with railways, creates wealth and leaves behind infrastructure that no finance director would agree to fund today. He also mentions the heritage inventory, including musical heritage, drawn up by his administration4, the Haussmann street-widenings and the annexation of Nice and Savoy.
- 1#9.23 “Ruled like music paper!” Bach, Nerval, Lévi-Strauss9 Jun 2021 · 15:32
- 2Clouscard: The metamorphoses of class struggle2 Sept 2024 · 1:25:53
- 3#4.7 Angélique (by Nerval)12 Apr 2018 · 1:16:14
- 4#2 From Lévi-Strauss to Nerval, on music3 Dec 2020 · 1:08:17
Summary produced automatically from 22 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.
Who is this?Napoleon III (born Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 1808 – 9 January 1873) was the first President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first elected president, second emperor, and the last monarch of France. He established the Second French Empire in 1852, which began a period of rapid industrialization and expansion of infrastructure in France and saw the rise of French influence in geopolitics after several decades of instability. […]
Read the article on WikipediaText: Wikipédia, CC BY-SA 4.0, excerpt · Portrait: Franz Xaver Winterhalter, Public domain
Talks · 23 May 2026Neo-fascism and the ideology of desire: is Michel Clouscard still relevant?
Cycle 13 · 2 Sept 2024Clouscard: The metamorphoses of class struggle- 1:25:53The last explicit monarch in France.
Cycle 12 · 14 Aug 2024Too late?- 15:26Attempt to return to sovereignty, ended by the defeat at Sedan.
Cycle 11 · 29 Jun 2023Worldliness in Clouscard: Aragon and the positivity of the negative- 53:43Period of the Haussmannian widenings.
Cycle 11 · 26 Apr 2023Worldliness in Clouscard, or “the dominant ideology”- 1:16:46The last monarchical figure; the defeat at Sedan traumatizes the Third Republic.
Series · 7 Feb 2023Nietzsche, or the Great Ninny- 11:01The Emperor of the French taken prisoner in the disaster of 1870-1871.
Cycle 10 · 8 Dec 2021#10.6 War and peace: “The death drives advance in silence…” (Freud)- 44:24"The Emperor of the French," whose armies are crushed in 1870.
Cycle 9.2 · 9 Jun 2021#9.23 “Ruled like music paper!” Bach, Nerval, Lévi-Strauss- 15:32"Napoleon the Little," whose coup d'état worsens the state of freedoms.
Series · 6 Jun 2021#3 Nomad or sedentary? The case of Nerval- 22:22Mocked by Hugo under the name "Napoléon le Petit."
Series · 3 Dec 2020#2 From Lévi-Strauss to Nerval, on music- 1:08:17His government organizes a French heritage, including musical heritage.
Talks · 24 Nov 2020Between sea and mountain, the standing stones of Valinco (the Corsican Neolithic)- 38:06His administration had an inventory made of the heritage.
Series · 23 Mar 2020Introduction to the upcoming workshops- 54:09The prince-president who will restore arbitrary rule.
Cycle 5.2 · 30 Jun 2019#5.8 Nature or landscape?- 1:30:19The rail network, which no financial director would accept today.
Series · 12 Mar 2019Pablo Servigne- 30:10Era when France was covered with railway lines.
Cycle 5.2 · 25 Jan 2019#5.4 Introduction: nature or landscape?- 20:56Cited among the counter-revolutionary phases.
Cycle 4 · 12 Apr 2018#4.7 Angélique (by Nerval)- 1:16:14Nerval writes about the origin of monarchy at the time of the censorship that followed his coup d'état.
Cycle 4 · 15 Mar 2018#4.6 Angélique (by Nerval)- 4:42The prince-president tightens the screws; amendment against the serial novel.
Cycle 4 · 12 Feb 2018#4.5 Angélique (by Nerval)- 9:06Hugo's "Napoléon le petit" calls freedoms into question.
Cycle 4 · 18 Oct 2017#4.1 Angélique (by Nerval)- 20:09His seizure of power leads Nerval to rename the text and remove its political criticism.
Cycle 2 · 1 Aug 2017#2.8 Between crisis and war: philosophising?- 1:22:36The railways under his reign were a creation of wealth.
Talks · 18 Jun 2016At the bistro (part 1)- 3:54The annexation of Nice and Savoy dates from him.
Series · 29 Jan 2012Everything is allowed but nothing is possible: Michel Clouscard (1)- 33:44His capitalism covered France with railways and left behind infrastructure.