Louis-Michel le Peletier, Marquis of Saint-Fargeau (sometimes spelled Lepeletier; 29 May 176020 January 1793) was a French politician and martyr of 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 ...
.
Career
Born in Paris, he belonged to a well-known family, his great-grandfather,
Michel Robert Le Peletier des Forts
Michel may refer to:
* Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name)
* Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers)
* Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...
, count of Saint-Fargeau, having been
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 ('' ...
.
After the death of his title-holding family, Le Peletier gained a vast amount of wealth.
Le Peletier entered into politics by becoming a lawyer ("avocat") in the employ of the
Place du Châtelet, a prison. In 1785 he was advanced to avocat-general. In 1789 he was elected to the
Parlement 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 ...
, and in that same year he became a deputy of the ''noblesse'' to the
States-General.
Initially, he shared the
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 ...
views of the majority of his class, but by degrees his ideas changed and became increasingly radical. On 13 July 1789 he demanded the recall of
Necker, whose dismissal by the king had aroused great excitement in Paris. In the
Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
he moved the abolition of the
death penalty, of the
galleys and of
branding, and the substitution of
beheading for
hanging
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...
. This attitude won him great popularity, and on 21 June 1790 he was made
president of the Constituent Assembly
This article lists Presidents of the French Parliament or, as the case may be, of its lower chamber.
The National Constituent Assembly was created in 1789 out of the Estates-General. It, and the revolutionary legislative assemblies that follow ...
.
He remained in this position until 5 July 1790.
During the existence of the
Legislative Assembly, he was elected President of the General Council for the
Yonne
Yonne () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight constituent departments, it is l ...
''
département
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...
'' in 1791. He was then elected by this ''département'' to become a deputy to the
Convention. Here he was in favor of the
trial of Louis XVI
The trial of Louis XVI—officially called "Citizen Louis Capet" since being dethroned—before the National Convention in December 1792 was a key event of the French Revolution. He was convicted of high treason and other crimes, resulting in ...
by the Assembly and was one of the deciding votes for the death of the king.
Educational Reform
While in the Convention, Le Peletier focused mainly on revolutionary reform of education, promoting a Spartan education. It called for both males and females to be taught in state-run schools and taught revolutionary ideas instead of the customary history, science, mathematics, language and religion. His educational plan was supported by
Robespierre and his ideas were borrowed in later schemes, notably by
Jules Ferry
Jules François Camille Ferry (; 5 April 183217 March 1893) was a French statesman and republican philosopher. He was one of the leaders of the Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 1881 and 1883 to 1885. He ...
.
Death and later honors
On 20 January 1793, the eve of the king's execution, Le Peletier was assassinated in a restaurant in the
Palais Royal
The Palais-Royal () is a former royal palace located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. The screened entrance court faces the Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre. Originally called the Palais-Cardinal, it was built for Cardinal R ...
.
His murderer, Philippe Nicolas Marie de Pâris, a member of the
Garde du Corps
A ''Garde du Corps'' (French for lifeguard) is a military unit, formed of guards. A '' Garde du Corps'' was first established in France in 1445. From the 17th century onwards, the term was used in several German states and also, for example, in th ...
, entered the restaurant, approached Le Peletier, and said "You voted for the King's death, Monsieur Le Peletier?" Le Peletier replied, saying "I voted according to my conscience. What has that to do with you?" Pâris proceeded to plunge a saber that he had hidden under his cloak into Le Peletier's chest. Pâris was able to leave the restaurant with no resistance from its patrons. Pâris fled to
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, where, on the point of being discovered, he supposedly shot himself in the head.
Other sources claim the real murderer fled to England where he died years later.
The Convention honored Louis Michel Le Peletier with a magnificent funeral.
His body was displayed in the
Place Vendôme
The Place Vendôme (), earlier known as Place Louis-le-Grand, and also as Place Internationale, is a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France, located to the north of the Tuileries Gardens and east of the Église de la Madeleine. It i ...
beneath the statue of
King Louis XIV. Le Peletier was buried in the
Panthéon
The Panthéon (, from the Classical Greek word , , ' empleto all the gods') is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was b ...
in Paris in 1793. His body was removed by his family on 14 February 1795.
Just a month after the assassination, on 23 February 1793, the
Opéra-Comique presented the first of four performances of a musical treatment of his life and death called ''Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, ou Le premier martyr de la République française'', with a libretto by
Auguste-Louis Bertin d'Antilly and music by
Frédéric Blasius.
[ Nicole Wild and David Charlton, ''Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique Paris: répertoire 1762–1972'' (Sprimont, Belgium: Editions Mardaga, 2005), 55, 301, 489]
The station
Saint-Fargeau of the
Paris Métro
The Paris Métro (french: Métro de Paris ; short for Métropolitain ) is a rapid transit system in the Paris metropolitan area, France. A symbol of the city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform architec ...
is named for him.
A Sèvres biscuit porcelain bust of Louis Michel Le Peletier is on display in the
Château de Vizille, Isère.
On 30 September 1793 the French Navy's ship ''
Séduisant'', one of two newly commissioned ships, with 74 guns, over 56 meters in length and 1550 tons in weight, was renamed ''Peletier''. On 30 May 1795, the ship reverted to her original name ''Séduisant''.
Painting by David
![Lepeletier-David 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Lepeletier-David_1.JPG)
The painter
Jacques-Louis David represented his death in a famous painting, ''
Les Derniers moments de Michel Lepeletier'' or ''Lepelletier de Saint-Fargeau sur son lit de mort''. David described his painting of Le Peletier's face as "Serene, that is because when one dies for one's country, one has nothing with which to reproach oneself." This painting, known only through a drawing made by a pupil of David, is considered by scholars the first official painting of the French Revolution, a rehearsal for David's later achievement ''
The Death of Marat
''The Death of Marat'' (french: La Mort de Marat or ''Marat Assassiné'') is a 1793 painting by Jacques-Louis David depicting the artist's friend and murdered French revolutionary leader, Jean-Paul Marat. One of the most famous images from the e ...
''.
Family
Le Peletier had a brother, Felix (1769–1837), well known for his advanced ideas,
and a brother
Amédée Louis Michel le Peletier, comte de Saint-Fargeau
Amédée Louis Michel le Peletier, comte de Saint-Fargeau (9 October 1770 – 23 August 1845), also spelled Lepeletier or Lepelletier, was a French entomologist, and specialist in the Hymenoptera.
In 1833, he served as president of the Société ...
(1770–1845), a noted
entomologist. The writer and academician
Jean d'Ormesson
Count Jean Bruno Wladimir François de Paule Le Fèvre d'Ormesson (16 June 1925 – 5 December 2017) was a French novelist. He was the author of forty books, the director of '' Le Figaro'' from 1974 to 1979, and the Dean of the Académie français ...
was descended from his daughter
Suzanne le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau.
In popular culture
Le Peletier appears as an antagonist in ''
Assassin's Creed Unity
''Assassin's Creed Unity'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released in November 2014 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and in December 2020 for Stadia. It is the ...
'', where he is depicted as a secret member of the
Templar Order under Grand Master
Francois-Thomas Germain who believes that he is doing what is right for
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
before what is right for the Templars. He is assassinated by the protagonist Arno Dorian in the Palais-Royale after he votes to have the king executed.
Citations
General sources
* Andress, David, ''The Terror: The Merciless War for Freedom in Revolutionary France'', New York, Straus and Giroux, 2005
* Déy, M., ''Histoire de la Ville et du Comté de Saint-Fargeau'', Auxerre, 1856
* Hazeltine, Mayo Williamson, ''French Revolution: A Study of Democracy'', London, Kessinger Publishing, 2003
* Herissay, Jacques, ''L'assassinat de Le Pelletier de Saint-Fargeau'', Paris, Ed.
Emile-Paul Frères, 1934
* Le Blant, Edmond, ''Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau et son meurtrier'', Paris, Douniol, 1874
* Lewis, Gwynne, ''The French Revolution Rethinking Debate'', N.P. Routledge, 1993
* Martucci, Roberto,'' En attendant Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau'' in ''Annales historiques de la Révolution française'', 2002, n°2, pp. 77–104
* Stephens, Henry Moore, ''The Principle Speeches of the Statesmen and Orators of the French Revolution 1789–1795'', Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1892
*
Luc-Normand Tellier
Luc-Normand Tellier (born October 10, 1944) is a Professor Emeritus in spatial economics of the University of Quebec at Montreal.
Education and teaching
After teaching for two years (1964–1966) at the Collège Saint-André of Kigali, Rwanda, ...
, ''Face aux Colbert : les Le Tellier, Vauban, Turgot ... et l'avènement du libéralisme'', Presses de l'Université du Québec, 1987, 816 pages.
Etexte
* About David's painting:
**
Baticle, Jeannine, ''La seconde mort de Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau. Recherches sur le sort du tableau de David'' in ''Bulletin de la Société Française d'Histoire de l'Art'', 1988, Paris, 1989, pp. 131–145
** Simon, Robert, ''David's Martyr-Portrait of Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau and the conundrums of Revolutionary Representation'' in ''Art History'', vol.14, n°4, December 1991, pp. 459–487
** Vanden Berghe Marc & Plesca, Ioana, ''Lepelletier de Saint-Fargeau sur son lit de mort par Jacques-Louis David : saint Sébastien révolutionnaire, miroir multiréférencé de Rome'', Brussels, 2005 – online on www.art-chitecture.net/publications.ph
External links
www.repeinture.com dedicated to the repainting & study of the missing picture by David, project in process
{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Peletier De Saint-Fargeau, Louis Michel
1760 births
1793 deaths
Assassinated French politicians
Burials at the Panthéon, Paris
Deputies to the French National Convention
People murdered in France
People of the French Revolution
Politicians from Paris
Regicides of Louis XVI