Napoleon III was especially anxious to finish the extension of rue de Rivoli from the Louvre to the Hotel de Ville, before the opening of the Paris Universal Exposition of 1855. Napoleon III demanded the construction of a new luxury hotel, to house his imperial guests during the Exposition. Napoleon III and Haussmann turned for funding to two Parisian bankers, Emile Pereire and Isaac Pereire, who had created a bank called Crédit Mobilier.