When I’m writing I get up at 4am. I don’t need an alarm clock. I have coffee and sit at my computer in the study. I can hear my neighbourhood in the 15th arrondissement come to life. It’s more like a village than part of a capital city. Our flat looks out onto a church square, so I hear the bell ring every quarter-hour all day. It’s a reassuring sound.

There’s a small, very valuable portrait of Napoleon in my study, but I haven’t filled my flat with relics. I’m not into that kind of thing. I was born surrounded by a host of things that belonged to him, but I have modern furniture in my apartment.

If I’m not writing I get up at 7am. I go and fetch a fresh baguette, but I’m afraid I don’t make breakfast for Françoise and the girls. I’m a father with bachelor habits, but I try to be civilised and wait for everyone else before having breakfast. I have a fruit salad or fruit juice, and maybe a bit of bread and jam.

Right now I’m spending a lot of time in my constituency in Nemours. In the morning I’ll distribute leaflets and talk to people at a market, or maybe at the station as they start their commute to Paris. Sometimes people are a bit surprised when I introduce myself as Charles Napoleon: they’ll say something like “But Napoleon died on St Helena.” Elderly people tend to know who I am, and they call me Prince or Monseigneur.

My family are the only descendants of the Bonapartes left. We’ve been called Napoleon since my great-grandfather changed the family surname to the name of the dynasty. It’s as if I own a fragment of France’s national memory; I feel I have a duty to ensure that what Napoleon achieved continues to inspire France and Europe. Lots of people see Napoleon as a tyrant and a warmonger, but that’s based on prejudice. It’s true he put in place a strong government, but he set up the institutions of the modern French republic, including the civil code, the law courts and the lycées. Many of his battles were against monarchies who wanted to crush the ideals of the 1789 revolution. He was a force for federating Europe, not for dividing it. I’ve set up a federation of over 40 towns linked to Napoleon — like Ajaccio, Austerlitz, Waterloo — to help teach Europeans about their history. By the way, I wouldn’t mind finding a British town!

The British always quote Napoleon: “England is a nation of shopkeepers.” But he didn’t hate the British. He hugely admired British institutions. And after Waterloo he wanted to live in England. He was very disappointed when he was sent to the island of St Helena. I don’t defend everything Napoleon did. But I don’t believe in reproducing the past. My father was too much in favour of bringing back the empire for my liking, so we argued and he disinherited me. I have no wish to become an emperor.

When I’m campaigning I’m on the road practically all the time, so lunch is usually a sandwich. If there’s time, I have a salad and a glass of Perrier. I don’t like heavy meals. I have to keep in shape for meetings with mayors, farmers and some association or other — I run nine miles twice a week. It’s a mostly rural constituency with 73 towns and villages. In Paris I use a bicycle or a motorbike, a Honda, but the constituency is so big I use my Renault Scenic.

There are no big rallies — I’m usually invited into someone’s home to meet people who live nearby and want to listen. I’m paying for my campaign out of my own pocket. The legal limit for what you can spend is about £45,000.

I agree with Sarkozy on the need to liberalise the economy — I can’t see how France can pretend globalisation is not happening. But I’m very worried by the way he wants to do this: he wants a Thatcherite revolution, and that’s not possible in France. He risks dividing France between the rich and the poor.

I’d like to see a Blair-like, social-liberal model that protects the poor. I’m supporting François Bayrou’s party. His score in the presidential election was remarkable — it shows many voters want to find a way that is halfway between the traditional left-right alternatives. We need to set up a broad coalition to tackle issues like global warming and globalisation. There are no left or right policies on those. I want a stronger parliament, more jobs, and France to become once again the heart of Europe. And less red tape — for instance, in my constituency there’s the castle of Fontainebleau, where Napoleon said farewell to his most loyal soldiers before going into exile in 1814. If the head of the museum needs a new rubber stamp, he has to ask an office in the culture ministry in Paris. Crazy!

I’ve no idea if I’ll get elected. It’s true that being Napoleon’s descendant gives me a certain notoriety. But it can be irritating to have to talk about the past so often, when I want to talk about the present and the future. History is history, and I’m me. My campaigning day ends with more meetings. I grab dinner where and when I can — nothing more than soup or something light — and I get to bed at one in the morning. Right now I see my daughters only one day a week, but we call each other every day.

If I’m home I watch the 10.30pm news and try to be in bed by the time the bells ring for 11pm. I don’t let the worries of campaigning get to me.

I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

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