Marc-René de Voyer de Paulmy d'Argenson (1652-1721)
| Marc-René de Voyer de Paulmy d'Argenson | |
|---|---|
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| Born |
4 November 1652 Venice, Italy |
| Died | 8 May 1721 (aged 68) Paris, France |
Marc-René de Voyer, Marquis de Paulmy and marquis d’Argenson (4 November 1652 – 8 May 1721) was a French politician.
D'Argenson was born in Venice on 4 November 1652, where his father, also Marc-René, was ambassador. According to tradition, he was declared a godson of the Venetian Republic which accounted for the name Marc (Saint Mark being the patron saint of Venice).
D'Argenson became avocat in 1669, and lieutenant-general in the sénéchaussée of Angoulême (1679). After the death of Colbert, who disliked his family, he went to Paris and married Marguerite Lefèvre de Caomartin, a kinswoman of the comptroller-general Pontchartrain. This was the beginning of his fortunes. He became successively maître des requêtes (1694), member of the conseil des prises (prize court) (1695), procureur-général of the commission of inquest into false titles of nobility (1696).
In 1697 d'Argenson became lieutenant-general of police. This office, which had previously been filled by Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie, was very important. It not only gave him the control of the police, but also the supervision of the corporations, printing press, and provisioning of Paris. All contraventions of the police regulations came under his jurisdiction, and his authority was arbitrary and absolute. Fortunately, he had, in Saint-Simon’s phrase:
a nice discernment as to the degree of rigour or leniency required for every case that came before him, being ever inclined to the mildest measures, but possessed of the faculty of making the most innocent tremble before him; courageous, bold, audacious in quelling êmeutes, and consequently the master of the people.
During the twenty-one years that d'Argenson exercised the office of lieutenant-general of police, he was a party to every private and state secret; in fact, he had a share in every event of any importance in the history of Paris. He was the familiar friend of Louis XIV, who delighted in scandalous police reports; he was patronized by the Philippe, Duke of Orleans; he was supported by the Jesuits at court; and he was feared by all.
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