Emmanuel Crétet
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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 ( ) is the national central bank for France within the Eurosystem. It was the French central bank between 1800 and 1998, issuing the French franc. It does not translate its name to English, and thus calls itself ''Banque de ...
.


Early years

Emmanuel Crétet was born in the village of
Le Pont-de-Beauvoisin, Savoie Le Pont-de-Beauvoisin () is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It lies on the right bank of the Guiers, opposite Le Pont-de-Beauvoisin in Isère. Merchant, financier and politician ...
, 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 language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
. 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 (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: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") 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 ...
. He moved to
Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...
, 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 monast ...
in the department of
Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or () is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.
, founded in 1384 and burial place of the Valois
Dukes of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...
. 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 391 communes of the Ain department of France. The communes cooperate in th ...
. 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 () was a house of the French bicameral legislature under the Constitution of the Year III, during the period commonly known as the Directory (French: ''Directoire''), from 22 August 1795 until 9 Nov ...
, the Upper House of the
French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate; ) was the system of government established by the Constitution of the Year III, French Constitution of 1795. It takes its name from the committee of 5 men vested with executive power. The Directory gov ...
, taking his seat at the start of Brumaire, year IV. There he began a political career dedicated to economic and financial administration.


Consulate

Crétet supported the coup-d'état of
18 Brumaire The Coup of 18 Brumaire () brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power as First Consul of the French First Republic. In the view of most historians, it ended the French Revolution and would soon lead to the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the ...
(9 November 1799) in which
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
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 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
Banque de France The Bank of France ( ) is the national central bank for France within the Eurosystem. It was the French central bank between 1800 and 1998, issuing the French franc. It does not translate its name to English, and thus calls itself ''Banque de ...
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 (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...
in 1871. Crétet was appointed Commander of the
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
. 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 – 26 December 1820) was a French statesman, revolutionary, and Minister of Police under First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte, who later became a subordinate of Emperor Napoleon. H ...
. 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 French merchants Governors of the Banque de France French interior ministers Commanders of the Legion of Honour