Did they? It's not like there was a referendum on whether to have an emperor, and then an election for who should be the emperor, and then periodic successive

Did they? It's not like there was a referendum on whether to have an emperor, and then an election for who should be the emperor, and then periodic successive elections. It was all a disaster through and through. From La Terreur to Napoleon and his wars, it was a disaster. Worse than that, La Terreur set a pattern that has been repeated (and, sadly, "improved") in the many years since.