Bokassa crowned finally emperor the December 4th 1977 during a ceremony to which 5 000 guests assisted, in particular the French Minister for the Co-operation, Robert Galley; no Head of State made displacement however. He covered for the occasion the same costume as the Maréchal Ney at the time of the sacring of Napoleon I {{er}}. Its complete title was “Emperor of Central Africa by the will of the Centrafricain people, plain within the national political party: the MESAN” (" Movement for the Social Evolution of the Black Africa "). This last episode to him been worth a megalomaniac reputation of , Bokassa justified its actions by declaring that the creation of a monarchy would help Central Africa to be distinguished from the other African countries and to gain the respect of the other countries of the world. He claimed to set up a Constitutional monarchy, but its mode remained a violent dictatorship.

In 1979, Jean-Bedel Bokassa did not enjoy any more its last popularity. In January, it repressed in the blood of the demonstrations of high-school pupils. Amnesty International and a commission of international lawyers established that it took part in the massacre in the prison of Bangui of 100 children who had been stopped to have protested against the too high cost of the school uniforms imposed by the emperor; Bokassa always savagely denied its implication in this massacre. Rumors claimed that Bokassa was devoted to the Cannibalisme on the occasion, which was worth to him the nickname of “the ogre of Berengo”, but these charges were rejected at the time of its lawsuit.