At first, it's heartening to see the French honoring their best known historical figure, but then the silliness begins. The Telegraph and The Economist quote Jégo as envisioning tourists skiing through a Russian battlefield "surrounded by the frozen bodies of soldiers and horses." He'd have reenactments of Louis XVI being guillotined. The Battle of Waterloo and the naval Battle of Trafalgar, both French disasters, would be recreated every day. "It's going to be fun for the whole family," Mr. Jégo told the London Times.

Is this mockery simply British bias or does it reflect the former French minister and history buff's intentions? Perhaps we'll hear the whole story on February 18^th when Yves Jégo makes a full announcement.

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that the French victory at Montereau only briefly slowed the Coalition's invasion of France. Eight weeks later, Napoleon abdicated and accepted exile on Elba with an annual pension of 2,000,000 francs.  The pension, however, was never paid, contributing to Napoleon's decision to escape Elba and return to France for his Hundred Days rule before his defeat at Waterloo.