In France in 1852, voters were asked whether they approved of the re-establishment of the Empire in the person of Louis Napoléon Bonaparte,  the only president of what republic?
French Second Empire referendum, 1852 A referendum on re-establishing the Empire was held in France on 21 and 22 November 1852. Voters were asked whether they approved of the re-establishment of the Empire in the person of Louis Napoléon Bonaparte and family. It was approved by 96.9% of voters with a 79.8% turnout.
Démosthène Ollivier Démosthène Ollivier (25 February 1799 – 22 April 1884) was a French businessman and politician. He was a staunch democrat and Republican, and was opposed to the Bourbon Restoration and the monarchy of Louis Philippe I. In the 1830s he was a friend of the Italian nationalist politician Giuseppe Mazzini. He was elected to the Constituent Assembly after the revolution of 1848. He protested the 1851 coup by Prince Louis Napoleon, and was forced into exile. His son Émile Ollivier became a prominent politician, and Démosthène Ollivier was allowed to return to France in 1860.