Nowadays known as the Parisian centre of jewellery and luxury, Place Vendôme was originally ordered by Louis XIV to be a showcase for the great institutions of the monarchy. The project was finally abandoned, and the land sold to great financiers. In the centre, an equestrian statue of Louis XIV recalled the royal predominance. But in 1792, this statue suffered the same fate as all the other statues of the royal squares: it was knocked down.

At the fall of the emperor in 1814, the statue was taken down, replaced during the Restoration by a flag with a huge fleur-de-lis. In 1830, the new monarchy, led by Louis-Philippe, decided to replace the royal flag with a tricolor flag. Then, a few years later, a new statue of Napoleon is placed on the top of the Vendôme column. Louis-Philippe, who has always cultivated an image close to revolutionary ideals, wanted to revive the figure of the military hero. Napoleon is no longer represented as a Roman emperor, but dressed as a “little corporal” in a frock coat and hat. This statue would remain 30 years, until Napoleon III, judging it unworthy of his illustrious predecessor, replaced it with a new statue of Napoleon as a Roman emperor.