The coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the French, which took place on Sunday December 2, 1804 (11 Frimaire, Year XIII according to the French Republican Calendar), at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, has been said to mark "the instantiation of modern empire", representing a "transparently masterminded piece of modern propaganda".^[1]

Napoleon wanted to establish in the mind of France legitimacy of his Imperial reign, with its new royal family and new nobility. Therefore, he designed a new coronation ceremony, unlike the one used for the kings of France. It was a sacred ceremony held in the great cathedral in the presence of the Pope. He brought together an assortment of different rites and customs, incorporating aspects of Carolingian tradition, the ancien régime and the Revolution all presented in terms of sumptuous luxury.^[2]

On May 18, 1804, the Sénat conservateur vested the Republican government in an Emperor, and preparations for a coronation followed. Napoleon's elevation to Emperor was overwhelmingly approved by the French citizens in a referendum. Among Napoleon's motivations for being crowned were to gain prestige in international royalist and Catholic milieux and to lay the foundation for a future dynasty.^[3]:243

In the classical French tradition, kings underwent a ceremony of consecration (sacre) rather than a coronation; in consecration, anointment was conferred by the archbishop of Reims in Notre-Dame de Reims.^[3] Napoleon blended Roman imperial pageantry with the purported memory of Charlemagne. The coronation was held in Paris in the presence of Pope Pius VII. According to government tallies, the entire cost was over 8.5 million francs.