On 10 May 1804, Napoleon, who had already been made Emperor by the sénatus-consulte of 28 floréal an XII (18 May 1804) – dit Constitution de l’an XII) received Cardinal Caprara and expressed his desire to be crowned by the Pope. On 10 September he officially invited the pontiff to come and consecrate him at Notre-Dame. After long hesitations, Pius VII finally accepted. He hoped that his coming to France would allow him to obtain the modification of the Organic Articles, added unilaterally by Bonaparte to the Concordat of 1801, and the restitution of the legations (Bologna, Ferrara, Forlì and Ravenna) lost to the Roman Republic.
Acclaimed throughout his journey through France, the Pope arrived at Fontainebleau on 25 November 1804. Napoleon went to meet him, at the Croix de Saint-Herem, in the middle of the forest. According to witnesses, the Pope had to walk through mud to meet his host. The next day, a great feast was held in the Pope’s honour at the chateau de Fontainebleau, and on 28 November Pius VII and the Emperor made a solemn entry into Paris, a few days before the Sacre (2 December 1804).