Napoleon left from exile on Elba and landed on the mainland near Cannes on 1 March 1815.[1] He traveled north, with supporters flocking to his cause.[2] On 16 March 1815 Louis XVIII addressed a meeting of both chambers, appealing to them to defend the constitutional charter.[3] On the night of 19–20 March the king left his palace for Ghent in Belgium. Napoleon entered Paris on 20 March.[4] He announced his ministers that day.[5]
On 22 April 1815 the emperor announced changes to the constitution that defined the roles of the two chambers and of the ministers.[6] On 1 June 1815 a major ceremony was held on the Champ de Mars in which the Emperor's authority was formally recognized.[7] On 12 June 1815 Napoleon left Paris for the north, where the allied forces of Britain and Prussia were assembling. He was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.[8] Napoleon abdicated for the second time on 22 June 1815.[9] That day the two chambers nominated the members of the French Provisional Government of 1815, which would serve as government until the second Bourbon Restoration.[10]