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 November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

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 (''S ...

. 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 The Place du Châtelet () is a public square in Paris, on the right bank of the river Seine, on the borderline between the 1st and 4th arrondissements. It lies at the north end of the Pont au Change, a bridge that connects the Île de la Cité, ...

, 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 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 Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

, of the

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

s and of

branding Branding may refer to: Physical markings * Making a mark, typically by charring: ** Wood branding, permanently marking, by way of heat, typically of wood (also applied to plastic, cork, leather, etc.) ** Livestock branding, the marking of animals ...

, and the substitution of

beheading Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

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 i ...

. 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 ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' in 1791. He was then elected by this ''département'' to become a deputy to the

Convention Convention may refer to: * Convention (norm), a custom or tradition, a standard of presentation or conduct ** Treaty, an agreement in international law * Convention (meeting), meeting of a (usually large) group of individuals and/or companies in a ...

. 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 Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

and his ideas were borrowed in later schemes, notably by Jules Ferry.

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. His murderer, Philippe Nicolas Marie de Pâris, a member of the Garde du Corps, 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 beneath the statue of

King Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

. Le Peletier was buried in the Panthéon 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 The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

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 Auguste-Louis Bertin d'Antilly (1763–1804) was a French dramatist and journalist whose patriotic songs and topical libretti were prominent during the French Revolution, but who emigrated from France under Napoleon. Bertin d'Antilly possessed the ...

and music by

Frédéric Blasius Frédéric Blasius (24 April 1758, in Lauterbourg – 1829, in Versailles) was a French violinist, clarinetist, conductor, and composer. Born Matthäus ( French: Matthieu, Mathieu) Blasius, he used Frédéric as his pen name on his publicati ...

Nicole Wild Nicole Wild (20 June 1929 – 29 December 2017) was a French musicologist, chief curator at the Paris Opera Library and Museum, and a specialist in the history and iconography of opera in France in the 19th century. Early life and education Bor ...

and David Charlton, ''Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique Paris: répertoire 1762–1972'' (Sprimont, Belgium: Editions Mardaga, 2005), 55, 301, 489 The station

Saint-Fargeau Saint-Fargeau is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, in the historical region of Puisaye. Main sights * Saint-Ferréol church, built in Gothic style in the 14th and 15th centuries. Notable bur ...

of the Paris Métro is named for him. A Sèvres biscuit porcelain bust of Louis Michel Le Peletier is on display in the

Château de Vizille The Château de Vizille is a castle in the French town of Vizille near Grenoble. It is one of the most prestigious and important castles of the Dauphiné Region. Traditionally, from the 14th century, the Dauphiné was the homeland of the inherit ...

, 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

The painter

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

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 (1770–1845), a noted

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

. The writer and academician Jean d'Ormesson 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'', where he is depicted as a secret member of the

Templar Order , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

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 France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

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, ''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