1852 French Second Empire referendum
1852 referendum on re-establishing the Second French Empire / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A referendum on re-establishing the Empire was held in France on 21 and 22 November 1852. Voters were asked whether they approved of the re-establishment of the Empire in the person of Louis Napoléon Bonaparte and family. It was approved by 96.9% of voters with a 79.8% turnout.[1] As with other plebicites under Napoleon III (and Napoleon I), the results were rigged and only served to legitimize their rule under a false sense of democracy.[2][3]