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Louis-Michel le Peletier | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byJean-François Garneray | |
| National Convention forYonne | |
| In office 20 September 1792 – 20 January 1793 | |
| Succeeded by | Alexandre Edmé Pierre Villetard |
| Member of the National Constituent Assembly | |
| In office 9 July 1789 – 5 July 1790 | |
| Constituency | Paris |
| Member of the Estates-General forNobility | |
| In office 16 May 1789 – 9 July 1789 | |
| Constituency | Paris |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1760-05-29)29 May 1760 |
| Died | 20 January 1793(1793-01-20) (aged 32) |
| Resting place | Château de Saint-Fargeau,Burgundy,France |
| Political party | The Mountain |
| Spouse | Marie-Louise Adelaide Joly |
| Children | Suzanne le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau |
| Profession | Lawyer,magistrate |
| Signature |  |
Louis-Michel le Peletier, Marquis of Saint-Fargeau (French pronunciation:[lwimiʃɛlləpɛltje]; sometimes spelledLepeletier; 29 May 1760 – 20 January 1793) was a French politician, nobleman,Freemason[1] and martyr of theFrench Revolution.[2]
Born in Paris, he belonged to a well-known family, his great-grandfather,Michel Robert Le Peletier des Forts, count ofSaint-Fargeau, having beenController-General of Finances.[3] 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 thePlace du Châtelet, a prison. In 1785 he was advanced to avocat-general. In 1789 he was elected to theParlement of Paris, and in that same year he became a deputy of the nobility to theStates-General.[3]
Initially, he shared theconservative 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 ofNecker, whose dismissal by the king had aroused great excitement in Paris. In theConstituent Assembly he moved the abolition of thedeath penalty, of thegalleys and ofbranding, and the substitution ofbeheading forhanging. This attitude won him great popularity, and on 21 June 1790 he was madepresident of the Constituent Assembly.[3] He remained in this position until 5 July 1790.
During the existence of theLegislative Assembly, he was elected President of the General Council for theYonnedépartement in 1791. He was then elected by thisdépartement to become a deputy to theNational Convention. Here he was in favor of thetrial of Louis XVI by the Assembly and was one of the deciding votes for the death of the king.[3]
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 byRobespierre and his ideas were borrowed in later schemes, notably byJules Ferry.
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On 20 January 1793, the eve of the king's execution, Le Peletier was assassinated in a restaurant in thePalais Royal.[3] His murderer, Philippe Nicolas Marie de Pâris, a member of theGarde du Corps, entered the restaurant, approached Le Peletier, and said "You voted for the King's death, Mr. 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.[4] Pâris fled toNormandy, where, on the point of being discovered, he supposedly shot himself in the head.[3]
The Convention honored Louis Michel Le Peletier with a magnificent funeral.[3] His body was displayed in thePlace Vendôme beneath the statue of KingLouis XIV. Le Peletier was buried in thePanthéon 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, theOpéra-Comique presented the first of four performances of a musical treatment of his life and death calledLe Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, ou Le premier martyr de la République française, with a libretto byAuguste-Louis Bertin d'Antilly and music byFrédéric Blasius.[5][6]
The stationSaint-Fargeau of theParis Métro is named for him. A Sèvres biscuit porcelain bust of Louis Michel Le Peletier is on display in theChâteau de Vizille, Isère. On 30 September 1793 the French Navy's shipSéduisant, one of two newly commissioned ships, with 74 guns, over 56 meters in length and 1550 tons in weight, was renamedPeletier. On 30 May 1795, the ship reverted to her original nameSéduisant.
The painterJacques-Louis David represented his death in a famous painting,Les Derniers moments de Michel Lepeletier orLepelletier 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 achievementThe Death of Marat.
Le Peletier had a brother, Felix (1769–1837), well known for his advanced ideas,[3] and a brotherAmédée Louis Michel le Peletier, comte de Saint-Fargeau (1770–1845), a notedentomologist. The writer and academicianJean d'Ormesson was descended from his daughterSuzanne le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau and her descendants owned the famousChâteau de Saint-Fargeau until 1960s.
Le Peletier appears as an antagonist inAssassin's Creed Unity, where he is depicted as a secret member of theTemplar Order under Grand MasterFrancois-Thomas Germain who believes that he is doing what is right forFrance 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.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau, Louis Michel".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 464.
