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What was the Hundred Days in French history?

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Napoleonic Wars *Battle of Wagram, 6 July 1809*, oil on canvas by Horace Vernet, 1836.

The Hundred Days refers to the period in French history between March 20, 1815, when Napoleon returned to Paris after escaping his exile on Elba, and July 8, 1815, when Louis XVIII was restored to the throne.1

Following his initial abdication in 1814 and the subsequent Bourbon Restoration, Napoleon landed at Cannes in March 1815 and marched on Paris, prompting Louis XVIII to flee. Although Napoleon attempted to secure support by introducing liberal constitutional reforms, his return was met with immediate opposition from the allied powers—Austria, Britain, Prussia, and Russia—who declared him an outlaw and mobilized their armies.123

The period culminated in the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815, where Napoleon was decisively defeated by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. Napoleon abdicated for the second time on June 22 and was eventually exiled to St. Helena, marking the final end of the First French Empire.241