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By intervening in behalf of Pope Pius IX, whom revolutionists
had driven from Rome, he gained the support of the clergy. Napoleon's
troops restored Pius IX (1850) to the papal throne. The President's aims
at supremacy were approved by the French monarchists, and he used all
means to increase his popularity, placing only his adherents in office.
When the Assembly, composed of seven hundred sixty members, undertook to
restrict the suffrage, which was "universal," Napoleon opposed the
change. He thus appeared to be the champion of the people against the
legislative body. As his term was to expire on May 2, 1852, and as he
was ineligible for a second term, although he knew that a majority of
the people favored his continuance in office, he saw no way to
accomplish that except by force. He therefore determined to use force,
and the method he adopted was that of the _coup d'etat_. The success of
that stroke insured all that he aimed at. In December, 1851, by an
almost unanimous vote he was elected President for ten years.


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