"The French have always argued over Napoleon: leftwingers dismiss him as a despot who betrayed the ideals of the Revolution while the right reveres him as a military hero who laid the foundations for the modern state. But no one has seriously suggested expunging him from French history — until now. Some leftists and ethnic minority groups claim that a “racist, sexist” Napoleon deserves vilification, not celebration, and are demanding the cancellation of events this year marking the bicentenary of his death...."