Philippe de Ponchartren, Louis

In 1687, Mr .. became the quartermaster and right hand of the controller Lepelletier; from 1689 to 1699 was the general controller. He had to perform the difficult task of delivering funds for the almost half-million army of Louis XIV , while the state’s ordinary revenues amounted to only about 120 million livres. Yielding to Colbert both in breadth of vision and in administrative abilities, Ponchartren became one of the main culprits of the shakiness of French finance at the end of the 17th century.

In view of the insufficiency of revenues and the inaccuracy of collectors and quartermasters, Ponchartren began to invent new means to replenish the treasury. In 1688, he issued a new customs charter, enriching, however, only farmers; at that time, he banned transit trade, which on the part of the Netherlands caused the prohibition of the import of French bread unprofitable for France. In 1693, banned the export of bread abroad to provide food for the army, but this ruined the national economy; the monopolization of hats trade and the taxation of colonial products, without benefiting the treasury, killed both branches of trade. In 1693, farms were already taken at a discount of 600 thousand livres. Ponchartren greatly expanded the trade in posts and titles; The words are attributed to him: “Providence is watching over this country; the king only needs to invent some position - and God immediately creates a fool to buy it. " He created the positions of drink-keepers, piglet-keepers, wig inspectors, etc .; for 400 thousand livres, the positions of custodians of acts of birth, marriage and burial were sold, and these functions were first taken away from the clergy. The requisitions by which the acts of state were imposed provoked indignation in other places.

This was followed by the sale of the nobility, the sale of the rehabilitation of criminals, the recovery of “voluntary gifts” (dons gratuits) from cities and provinces, the sale of royal lands and, finally, the most disastrous of Ponchartren’s measures - reform of monetary circulation (1688): an increase in the amount in circulation coins up to 500 million livres. For a long time, Ponchartren did not want to agree to the proposed Languedoc states and Quartermaster Languedoc, Bavill, capitation and tithe, probably because they had to fall to privileged estates. In the end, he was forced, however, to introduce an all-round lodge, and the entire population was divided into 24 categories: the first included the crown prince, who paid 2,000 livres, the last lodge was 20 sous, and later 10 sous. Only persons of the lower classes who had less than 40 livres of taxable income, mendicant monks and the poor were seized. This tax in 1695 was carried out very easily and proved that France was far from being deprived of resources; he gave, however, no more than 25 million a year and after the conclusion of peace was canceled.

When in 1699 Ponchartren changed his post of controller to the position of chancellor, the deficit was 47 million. In the position of chancellor, Ponchartren did not play a political role.