Politics and the Parlement of Paris under Louis XV, 1754–1774

An analysis of the causes and consequences of the political crises between King and Parlement in eighteenth-century France.

Julian Swann (Author)

9780521483629, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 6 April 1995

404 pages
22.8 x 15.1 x 2.2 cm, 0.564 kg

"Drawing on records of the Parlement of Paris and papers and memoirs of a host of key eighteenth-century political figures, Julian Swann's rich new study represents a significant revisionist addition to the growing literature on the court...Because such new interpretations will require a re-examination of the conflicts between the monarch and court, students of eighteenth-century France will wish to consult Swann's study." The Historian

Politics in eighteenth-century France was dominated by the relationship between the crown and the magistrates of the Parlement of Paris. The Parlement provided a traditional check upon the King's authority, but after 1750 it entered a period of prolonged confrontation with the government of Louis XV. The religious, financial and administrative policies of the monarchy were subject to sustained opposition, and the magistrates employed arguments which challenged the foundations of royal authority. This struggle was brought to an abrupt conclusion in 1771, when Chancellor de Maupeou implemented a royal revolution, breaking the power of the Parlement. In order to explain why the crown and the Parlement drifted into conflict, this study re-examines the conduct of government under Louis XV, the role of the magistrates, and the structure of judicial politics in eighteenth-century France.

Preface
List of abbreviations
1. Introduction: the Parlement of Paris
2. Historians and the parlements
3
The king and his judges
4. The parti janséniste and the refusal of the sacraments crisis, 1754–1756
5. Managing the parlements: crisis and compromise, 1756–1758
6. The Parlement and fiscal politics, 1756–1763
7. Choiseul and the politics of appeasement, 1758–1763
8. An unhappy peace, 1763
9. Defending La Chalotais: the Brittany affair, 1764–1766
10. In the eye of the storm, 1767–1770
11. The fall of the Parlement of Paris, 1770–1771
Conclusion: Maupeou and beyond
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], European history [HBJD]