__NOTOC__ Joseph-François Foullon de Doué, or Foulon de Doué (25 June 1715 – 22 July 1789), was a French politician and a

Controller-General of Finances The Controller-General or Comptroller-General of Finances (french: Contrôleur général des finances) was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1661 to 1791. It replaced the former position of Superintendent of Finances ('' ...

under

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

. A deeply unpopular figure, he has the ignominious distinction of being the first recorded person to have been lynched '' à la lanterne''.

Offices

Born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, Foullon served as Intendant-General of the Armies during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

, and as Intendant of the Army and Navy under Marshal de Belle-Isle. In 1771 he was appointed Intendant of Finances. In 1789, when

Jacques Necker Jacques Necker (; 30 September 1732 – 9 April 1804) was a Genevan banker and statesman who served as finance minister for Louis XVI. He was a reformer, but his innovations sometimes caused great discontent. Necker was a constitutional monarchi ...

was dismissed, the reactionary Court party nominated Foullon as Controller-General of Finances and minister of the king's household in the new government. Foullon became unpopular on all sides. The farmers-general resented his severity, and the Parisians his wealth, viewed as resulting from the exploitation of the poor. An unsubstantiated rumor accused him of having said during an earlier

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...

: "If those rascals have no bread, then let them eat hay". A staunch

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, he also was very hostile to Louis Philippe d'Orléans' circle. Foullon was a member of the ''

Parliament of Paris The Parliament of Paris (french: Parlement de Paris) was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. It was fixed in Paris by Philip IV of France in 1302. The Parliament of Paris would hold sessions inside the ...

'' immediately prior to the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, nicknamed ''Ame damnée'' (familiar demon).

Refuge and murder

After the

storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. At ...

on 14 July, Foullon fled from Paris to his friend Antoine de Sartine's house at

Viry-Châtillon Viry-Châtillon () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Population Inhabitants of Viry-Châtillon are known as ''Castelvirois'' in French. Sports The town is home to the women's f ...

, a few miles south of the capital. Aware of the feeling against him Foullon had reports of his own death circulated. On 22 July Foullon was captured by the peasants on Sartine's estate, and taken to the Hôtel de Ville. Made to walk barefoot, he had a bundle of hay tied to his back, was given peppered

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...

to drink, and had the sweat on his face wiped off with nettles. In Paris

Jean Sylvain Bailly Jean Sylvain Bailly (; 15 September 1736 – 12 November 1793) was a French astronomer, mathematician, freemason, and political leader of the early part of the French Revolution. He presided over the Tennis Court Oath, served as the mayor of Pa ...

and the

Marquis de La Fayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...

tried to intervene but Foullon was dragged by the populace to the

Place de Grève Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often ...

. As he was hanged from a lamp-post, the rope broke three times in a row — so members of the crowd decided to behead him instead, before parading his head on a pike with his mouth stuffed with grass, hay and excrement. Foullon's son-in-law Bertier de Sauvigny, the ''intendant'' of Paris was confronted by the severed head before being lynched himself. The nature of the killing of both Foullon and Bertier was endorsed by

Antoine Barnave Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie Barnave (, 22 October 176129 November 1793) was a French politician, and, together with Honoré Mirabeau, one of the most influential orators of the early part of the French Revolution. He is most notable for corresp ...

, a member of the new National Legislative Assembly, with the comment: "What, then, is their blood so pure?". Foullon's killing is mentioned in

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in ...

''. It is also discussed in

Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...

's ''

Rights of Man ''Rights of Man'' (1791), a book by Thomas Paine, including 31 articles, posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard the natural rights of its people. Using these points as a base it defends the ...

'' (1791), in which Paine likens Foullon's ordeal to that of

Robert-François Damiens Robert-François Damiens (; surname also recorded as ''Damier''; 9 January 1715 – 28 March 1757) was a French domestic servant whose attempted assassination of King Louis XV in 1757 culminated in his public execution. He was the last perso ...

, executed in 1757 following an attempted regicide, in order to argue that the Reign of Terror was the result of behaviour learned from the rulers of the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for ...

References

* ''In turn, it cites as references:'' ** Eugène Bonnemère, ''Histoire des paysans'' (4th ed., 1887), tome iii ** Charles Louis Chassin, ''Les Élections et les cahiers de Paris en 1789'' (Paris, 1889), tomes iii. and iv. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foullon De Doue, Joseph-Francois 1715 births 1789 deaths French monarchists French Ultra-royalists French counter-revolutionaries People from Saumur Ancien Régime office-holders People of the French Revolution Assassinated French politicians Lynching deaths Lords of France A Tale of Two Cities characters People murdered in Paris Fermiers généraux