Thierry Lentz, head of the Fondation Napoléon and author of 46 books on the Napoleonic era, says the anniversary is a chance to tell people about the reality of the man. “Like any major figure, there is good and bad. But there is no doubt he is the greatest man in French history. We owe who we are to Napoleon. We owe our institutions, our monuments, our laws – and even our pride at being French. The Napoleonic Code has been reformed, but it remains the cradle of our life as citizens, with its rules on equality before the law and civil liberty.”