How did the allied powers force Napoleon to abdicate in 1814?

By early 1814, Napoleon’s military position had collapsed following his defeat at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 and the subsequent invasion of France by the allied powers—Austria, Russia, Prussia, and Great Britain. The allies, bound by the Treaty of Chaumont, declared they were fighting against Napoleon personally rather than the French people, effectively isolating him politically.123

As allied forces approached Paris in March 1814, the French government and military leadership turned against the emperor. The Parisian authorities negotiated with the allies, and the French Senate and Legislative Assembly proclaimed his deposition. Simultaneously, Napoleon’s own marshals refused his demands to continue fighting, pressuring him to abdicate.24

Facing the capitulation of Paris and the loss of support from his commanders, Napoleon concluded that further resistance was futile. He signed his abdication at Fontainebleau on April 6, 1814. Under the terms of the Treaty of Fontainebleau, he was granted sovereignty over the island of Elba, an annual income, and the retention of his imperial title.254