The First French Empire, officially the French Republic then the French Empire, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from 18 May 1804 to 11 April 1814 and again briefly from 20 March 1815 to 7 July 1815.
Although France had already established a colonial empire overseas since the early 17th century, the French state had remained a kingdom under the Bourbons and a republic after the French Revolution. Historians refer to Napoleon's regime as the First Empire to distinguish it from the restorationist Second Empire ruled by his nephew Napoleon III.
On 18 May 1804, Napoleon was granted the title Emperor of the French by the French Sénat conservateur and was crowned on 2 December 1804, signifying the end of the French Consulate and of the French First Republic. Despite his coronation, the empire continued to be called the "French Republic" until 1809.