Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"In the late 18th century the monarchy and associated institutions were overthrown in the French Revolution. The country was governed for a period as a Republic, until the French Empire was declared by Napoleon Bonaparte. . . . In 1804 Napoleon was titled Emperor by the senate, thus founding the First French Empire." [Wikipedia] "Between 1795 and 1799, the Directory established satellite 'sister republics' directly administered by France. The Helvetic Republic (Switzerland), the Batavian Republic (the Netherlands), the Cisalpine Republic (Milan), and the Parthenopean Republic (the Kingdom of Naples) were founded with the goal of shoring up alliances against the other Great Powers." [Merriman: Modern Europe, p. 545]