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Events on Wednesday 4 August 1802 1
1802Napoleon Bonaparte becomes First Consul for LifePlebiscite confirms Bonaparte's lifetime hold on powerA national plebiscite in France approved making Napoleon Bonaparte First Consul for life, with the result proclaimed on 2 August 1802. The Senate ratified the change days later, granting him the right to name his successor. The move marked a decisive step toward one-man rule and, eighteen months later, the proclamation of the Empire.