Moderniser, war-monger, despot: Napoleon's complicated legacy

The historical French leader has captivated imaginations around the globe for centuries as the subject of books, films, songs and poems. As a new biopic directed by Ridley Scott is set to further embellish Napoleon Bonaparte's legend, the reality of his legacy is more complicated.

In France, Bonaparte goes by two nicknames: "the Eagle" among those who laud him as a military genius and force for modernisation thro