THE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE FOR 2007

2007 brings with it new Napoleonic bicentenaries: some military, as with the Polish campaign, some diplomatic, such as the Treaty of Tilsit and the creation of the Duchy of Warsaw, some political, namely the reform of the Corps législatif, the abolition of the Tribunat, the promulgation of the Code de commerce and the creation of the Cour des Comptes.
 
2007 will also be for the Fondation Napoléon a year for consolidation, comprising not only the publication of two volumes of the Correspondance générale de Napoléon (May and November), but also active participation in international events in Poland, Italy and the US, the strengthening of the library's collection as a result of a large donation, and the exhibition of our art collection in two German cities in February, etc.
 
Of primary importance, however, is the decision taken by the board of trustees to approve the renovation of the website napoleon.org. The upcoming months will be devoted to the preparatory work for this huge project, and the aim will be to achieve completion in the spring of 2008. It will be a slow, almost imperceptible business, but we hope that the result will make your visits to the site even more effective, as we bring to you all the new possibilities offered by the internet today.
 
In this respect, the new year has begun in the way we mean to go on: with an 18% leap in connections to the site, giving a total of about 3.1 million visitors for 2006. As Madame Mère might have said: “Pourvu que cela dure” (Long may it last). We'll do all we can to make it happen.
 
And so on behalf of the board of trustees and the Fondation Napoléon executive team, and for my own part, I wish you all an excellent 2007.
 
Victor-André Masséna, Prince d'Essling
President of the Fondation Napoléon