Sentencing of Nicolas Fouquet
- When
- 1661–1664
- Where
- Council chamber; Pignerol
- Episodes
- 2
Nicolas Fouquet, Superintendent of Finances, was arrested in 1661 and tried for lèse-majesté and peculation. The court sentenced him to banishment in December 1664, a decision Louis XIV subsequently commuted to life imprisonment.
Episodes
- Arrest of Fouquet
Fouquet was arrested by d'Artagnan in September 1661 while leaving the council chamber.
- Transport to Pignerol
Fouquet was taken to the prison fortress of Pignerol in the Alps in December 1664.
Background and detail
Background. Fouquet served as Superintendent of Finances from 1653. After Mazarin's death in 1661, Louis XIV grew suspicious of Fouquet's ambition. Despite a lavish fête at Vaux-le-Vicomte in August 1661, the king had already plotted his removal with Colbert.
Trial and Verdict. Fouquet was arrested in September 1661. The trial involved evidence such as the 'cassette of Saint Mandé'. On 20 December 1664, the court handed down a guilty verdict. Thirteen judges favored banishment, while nine voted for the death penalty.
Outcome. The sentence of banishment was handed down in December 1664. Louis XIV commuted this to life imprisonment at Pignerol. Fouquet was transported to the fortress in the Alps and remained imprisoned until his death in 1680.
People involved
- Nicolas Fouquet · Defendant and Superintendent of Finances
- Louis XIV · King and accuser
- Jean-Baptiste Colbert · Political rival and plotter
Sources
- Nicolas Fouquet Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-11
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.