Was France a republic or dictatorship under Napoleon?

Answer 1

Yes, he was. He was a self-proclaimed Emperor who was addicted to power. Though, at the time, he was everything France was in desperate need of. He structured the country again with firm rules and got rid of all the chaos that was caused by the revolution. The French had gotten rid of their monarchs, but now that was done, nobody knew how to rule the country and who should do it.

In 1799, he staged a coup d'état and installed himself as First Consul; five years later he crowned himself Emperor of the French. In the first decade of the nineteenth century, he turned the armies of the French Empire against every major European power and dominated continental Europe through a series of military victories---epitomised in battles such as Austerlitz. He maintained France's sphere of influence by the formation of extensive alliances and the appointment of friends and family members to rule other European countries as French client states. He made France big again. He was a brilliant strategist, operational commander and battlefield tactician. He was highly intelligent, but also addicted to power. The latter brought him to his eventual downfall.

Answer 2

Napoleon is a despot since he created a strong centralized government and pretty much got rid of the hundreds of localized law codes that had existed during under the control of the monarchy. In addition, he created an army of government officials.

Answer 3

Strangely he managed both.

Answer 4

It was an Empire.