The Civil List was the annual budget agreed by the legislature for the monarch, whether a king or an emperor, for their personal needs and those of the Maison de l’Empereur.

As did all French sovereigns since Louis XVI, during his regime Napoleon III received a financial allowance. He also had several palaces located in Paris and elsewhere in France; the gardemeuble de la couronne (responsible for furnishings, art and other moveable objects in the royal palaces); the Gobelins, Beauvais and Sèvres manufactories; and the musées du Louvre, du Luxembourg, de Versailles and de Saint-Germain.