Emmanuel Crétet, Comte de Champmol (10 February 1747 – 28 November 1809) was a French merchant, financier and politician. He was the first governor of the

Banque de France The Bank of France (French: ''Banque de France''), headquartered in Paris, is the central bank of France. Founded in 1800, it began as a private institution for managing state debts and issuing notes. It is responsible for the accounts of the Fr ...

Early years

Emmanuel Crétet was born in the village of Le Pont-de-Beauvoisin, Savoie, on 10 February 1747, the youngest of six children of a timber merchant. He studied with the

Oratorians An Oratorian is a member of one of the following religious orders: * Oratory of Saint Philip Neri (Roman Catholic), who use the postnominal letters C.O. * Oratory of Jesus (Roman Catholic) * Oratory of the Good Shepherd (Anglican) * Teologisk Orator ...

before joining a merchant in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture ...

. He made seven voyages to the West Indies, on some of which he commanded the ship. He spent time in England, where he acquired liberal views. Crétet then settled in Paris in the trading house of an uncle. He inherited his uncle's business. Shortly before 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 conside ...

(1789–1799) he had become Director of a fire insurance company.

First Republic

Crétet disapproved of the excesses of

the Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

. He moved to

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earl ...

, where he became a trader. He purchased some of the national assets that were sold by the revolutionary government. On 4 May 1791 he bought the ''chartreuse'' of

Champmol The Chartreuse de Champmol, formally the ''Chartreuse de la Sainte-Trinité de Champmol'', was a Carthusian monastery on the outskirts of Dijon, which is now in France, but in the 15th century was the capital of the Duchy of Burgundy. The monas ...

in the department of

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.Dukes of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...

. He destroyed the church of the former monastery and most of the buildings, apart from those he kept for his own use or to decorate the garden. The next year the tombs and coffins of the dukes were transported to

Saint-Bénigne Saint-Bénigne () is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ain department The following is a list of the 393 communes of the Ain department of France. The communes cooperate in the f ...

. The altar and some woodwork from the church was also reassembled. Crétet entered politics in 1795. He was elected to represent Côte-d'Or in the

Council of Ancients The Council of Ancients or Council of Elders (french: Conseil des Anciens) was the upper house of the French legislature under the Constitution of the Year III, during the period commonly known as the Directory (French: ''Directoire''), from ...

, the Upper House of the

French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and replaced ...

, taking his seat at the start of Brumaire, year IV. There he began a political career dedicated to economic and financial administration.

Consulate

Gérard - Signature du Concordat entre la France et le Saint-Siège, le 15 juillet 1801

Crétet supported the coup-d'état of

18 Brumaire The Coup d'état of 18 Brumaire brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and led to the Coronation of Napoleon as Emperor. This bloodless ''coup d'état'' over ...

(9 November 1799) in which Napoleon came to power as First Consul. On 4 Nivôse year VIII he was appointed both to the Senate and to the Council of State. He was named Councilor of State in charge of bridges and roads. He was willing to support new construction techniques, such as iron bridges in Paris. He undertook various canal projects, of which the

Saint-Quentin canal The Canal de Saint-Quentin () is a canal in northern France connecting the canalised river Escaut in Cambrai to the Canal latéral à l'Oise and Canal de l'Oise à l'Aisne in Chauny. History The canal was built in two phases, the second much long ...

was the first. Crétet was one of the most active negotiators of the Concordat that reestablished the Catholic religion in France. He was one of the signatories to the Concordat of 15 July 1801 that aimed to achieve peace with the church. On 11 Thermidor Year X Crétet issued a report on a central bank for France. He said it must be independent of the government, free in the way it used its capital and credit. If the government interfered, the bank would never establish credit and would be bound to fail.

Empire

Crétet was a member of committees charged with drawing up the statutes of the central bank, and was appointed first governor of the

by imperial decree on 25 April 1806. On 9 August 1807 he left the bank to become Minister of the Interior. He spent lavishly on monuments, and encouraged commerce, manufacturing, learning and the arts. He had the Stock Exchange built in Paris and the Granary, which was burned by the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defende ...

in 1871. Crétet was appointed Commander of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. Napoleon made him Comte de Champmol on 26 April 1808. Crétet resigned due to sickness on 1 October 1809 and was replaced by

Joseph Fouché Joseph Fouché, 1st Duc d'Otrante, 1st Comte Fouché (, 21 May 1759 – 25 December 1820) was a French statesman, revolutionary, and Minister of Police under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, who later became a subordinate of Emperor Napoleon. ...

. Crétet died on 28 November 1809, aged 62. The emperor decreed that he should be given great honors at his funeral. He was buried in the Panthéon, Paris.

References

Citations Sources * * * * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cretet, Emmanuel 1747 births 1809 deaths Governors of the Banque de France French interior ministers Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur