“Authority Forbidden to Women”: The Napoleonic Code Auctioned in France

8th March 2025

2 minutes read

“Authority Forbidden to Women”: The Napoleonic Code Auctioned in France

A volume of the Napoleonic Civil Code, enacted by Napoleon Bonaparte, the military leader and first Emperor of France, granting power to men while depriving women of it, has been sold at auction.

This volume, through which Napoleon insisted on providing France with a unified set of laws, was auctioned for €395,000 in Paris, as announced by Tajan Auction House.

Initially estimated between €100,000 and €200,000, the document was acquired by the Frougall family, the majority shareholder of Lefebvre Dalloz, a company specializing in publishing, training, software, and services for legal professionals.

In a statement, Tajan specified that “this edition, printed on large vellum and bearing the initials of the First Consul (Napoleon’s title at the time), is the only existing copy in private hands.”

They also noted that this volume “has remained in the possession of the same family since the fall of the Empire.”

It belonged to the descendants of one of Napoleon’s loyal followers, Étienne Charvet, who managed the Saint-Cloud Palace near Paris. Napoleon left this copy there before being exiled to Elba in 1814.

An Original Document

The authenticity of the document is confirmed by a handwritten letter from his son, Jean-Pierre Charvet, which was sold along with the volume.

When Napoleon Bonaparte took power in 1799, the development of a unified Civil Code was one of his top priorities.

In 1800, he appointed a team of legal experts for this task, and the full set of laws was published in March 1804.

After his exile following his defeat by a coalition led by Great Britain, Napoleon told one of his last companions, General Montolon, on Saint Helena in 1815:

“What nothing will erase, what will last forever, is my Civil Code.”

Power for Men

With this Code, Napoleon reinforced male authority over families and stripped women of any individual rights. It also reduced the rights of illegitimate children.

His legal system was applied in all territories under his control and influenced many European and South American nations.

Napoleon, the first Emperor of France after the 1789 Revolution that overthrew the monarchy, united vast parts of Europe through military force.

However, his victories did not last: he suffered multiple defeats, the final one being at Waterloo in 1815. Following this loss, he surrendered to British forces, who exiled him to Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.

Napoleon died six years later, at the age of 51.