From the campaign waged by Revolutionaries like Barère and the Abbé Grégoire against those regional languages they referred to pejoratively as 'patois', to the educational policies of Jules Ferry a century later, successive governments of France engaged in a broadly successful struggle to force the French to speak French. Inverting the logic of cultural nationalists like Herder, who claimed a shared language as the legitimate basis of national polities, French legislators sought to impose French as a common language on a linguistically diverse population that had already been constituted as a state. Recent historical work has shown the particular significance of such projects during the Napoleonic period. Historians have begun considering how far the Napoleonic regime was characterized by cultural imperialism. While the ideological nature of such projects- the 'view from the centre', so to speak- is now well understood by historians, this thesis is concerned with the practice of Napoleonic imperialism in one sphere of action: language. By focusing on the practice of linguistic imperialism under Napoleon this thesis makes an important contribution to understandings of the cultural politics of the period as well as Napoleonic state-building policies more generally.

Despite the attention historians have given to the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras in Central Europe, few works have sought to understand these events' reverberations throughout the nineteenth century in a local or regional context. Taking the northern German city of Hamburg as its focal point, this study investigates the change in the urban political culture affected by eight years of Napoleonic occupation. In the process of replacing Hamburg's sprawling and archaic government with one characterized by Gallic centralization and rigor, the French introduced a new style of politics that relied on consistent, public, and martial presentations of its authority. This public presence was heightened not only by the implementation of modern policing techniques, but also by a series of choreographed, ideologically-charged public spectacles whose effectiveness relied on a clever manipulation and politicization of urban space.

La ville de Provins (Seine-et-Marne) est marquée par une Révolution tranquille, où les manifestations de violence se distinguent par leur rareté. En matière religieuse, la ville connaît les divisions et les inquiétudes suscitées par la politique des assemblées successives. Les habitants s’élèvent contre la nouvelle division paroissiale, tandis que les curés et les vicaires se divisent au sujet du serment constitutionnel (1790-1792). Les biens du clergé sont nationalisés. Plusieurs églises, abbayes et couvents se vident de leurs chanoines et de leurs moines, pour être ensuite vendus, réutilisés à des fins profanes, et même démolis. À mesure que la situation politique se radicalise après la chute de la monarchie et la proclamation de la République, le clergé fait l’objet de mesures de plus en plus coercitives. Une grande partie des ecclésiastiques est alors placée en réclusion en 1793-1794. Des restrictions limitent également la pratique du culte, en l’interdisant notamment dans l’espace public et en fermant momentanément toutes les églises. Comment les Provinois réagissent-ils à ces bouleversements ? La modération des comportements et la recherche de conciliation semblent qualifier les habitants. Au lendemain de la Terreur, les ecclésiastiques, de toutes tendances, unissent leurs forces pour assurer à nouveau la desserte du culte dans les églises, au-delà des querelles théologiques. C’est sur cette situation apaisée que peuvent s’appuyer les évêques concordataires, à partir de 1802, pour réorganiser officiellement l’Église provinoise et redonner à la religion catholique et à l’autorité spirituelle la place dominante qu’elles occupaient auparavant dans les esprits et dans la cité. / Provins (Seine-et-Marne) was marked by a quiet Revolution. The city was almost completely free of any manifestation of violence. In religious matters, the successive policies of the assemblies generated divisions and concerns. People rose against the new parishes, while priests and vicars were divided about the constitutional oath (1790-1792). Canons, monks and nuns left the churches. Abbeys and convents, which were subsequently sold, were reused for secular purpose and even destroyed. As the political situation became radicalized, after the fall of the monarchy in August 1792 and the proclamation of the Republic in september, State and deputies voted coercive measures against the clergy. Much of clergymen were sent to prison in 1793-1794. Restrictions also limited religious practice. Indeed, worship were prohibited in public spaces and all churches were momentarily closed. How the people of Provins reacted to these changes? Moderation and reconciliation seem define behaviours. After Terror, all parts of the Provins’ clergy joined their forces to ensure worship in churches again, beyond the theological and political disputes. Thanks to this soothed situation, the first bishops of XIXth century led a successful policy in order to reorganize local Church and give back to the Catholic religion and spiritual authority the dominant position they previously occupied in minds and in society.