Napoleon letter denying he ordered pope kidnapping sold at auction

A hand-written letter from Napoleon denying his role in the kidnapping of Pope Pius VII in 1809 was sold at auction on Sunday outside Paris for €26,360 ($30,000), the auctioneer said.

The letter, signed “Napole”, went on sale the day after the funeral of Pope Francis, who died on Monday. The sale price exceeded the estimate of €12,000-€15,000, according to the Osenat auction house.

The auction’s location in Fontainebleau, south of Paris, was highly symbolic as the town was where...