Honore Gabriel Riqueti de Mirabeau
French politicianHonore Gabriel Riqueti, count de Mirabeau. Deputy more for the Constituent one, Mirabeau came from a family of the nobility of Provence, of Italian origin. Marked by the smallpox, large gifted speaker of a stentorian voice, it imposed his popularity on whole France. An adventurous youth
His father, Victor Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau (Sluice, Vaucluse, 1715 - Argenteuil, 1789), economist disciple of Quesnay, propagandist of physiocracy, author of the Friend of the men (1756) and in favor of an adaptation of the nobility to new times, treated it with an extreme hardness.
Itself, not needing to learn a trade, had a tumultuous youth, multiplied the debts, touched army (in Corsica) like much of noble young people, and, although having married the girl of the marquis de Marignane, had many female connections. His/her father made it several times lock up at the height of Vincennes, and finally to exile with the castle of Joux, in the Jura, from where he flees in Holland with Sophie de Ruffey, wife of the marquis de Monnier, the president of the Court of Auditors of Pares. Mirabeau was extradited, imprisoned with the keep of Vincennes of 1777 to 1780, then he travelled a little everywhere to Europe, on the occasion for missions of espionage.
During its stays in prison and of its peregrinations, he wrote some licentious works, of the Letters with Sophie (addressed to Sophie de Ruffey), and a series of lampoons and of historical studies: Test on the despotism, published in London in 1775; Lettre de cachets and prisons of State, published in Hamburg in 1782; Prussian monarchy under Frederic the Large one, in four volumes, published in London in 1788; as well as works on the Jews or on the organization of the production of salt.
Propagandist of the third state
Candidate with the general states of 1789, it was rejected by his order but was elected by the third state of Aix-en-Provence. Its Call to the nation of Provence and its Letters of the count de Mirabeau with his principals (1789) for the period when the conflict between the orders was not distinct imposed it like a propagandist of foreground of the third. Its apostrophe with the marquis de Dreux-Brézé, on on June 23rd, 1789 (“say to the king that we are here by the will of the people and that we will leave there only by the force the bayonets”), completed to place it in charge of the patriots. Speaker shining, it was binding on the general states then with the constituent National Assembly, of which he became the president and where he paid or intervened on all the great questions (the Declaration of the rights, royal veto, the law on the declaration of war, the civil Constitution of the clergy, etc).
Double game
Very as a combatant the absolutism, Mirabeau was however in favor of a monarchical power extremely, inspired of the British model. Not being able to reach the ministry it on November 7th, 1789, the Parliament had indeed voted, partly against him, a law prohibiting the deputies from being ministers -, it intrigued near the king and was secretly made some advise it, as of May 1790. But he was hardly listened, and its double game was denounced soon. However, its popularity was still large when its untimely death occurred, on on April 2nd, 1791, which was felt like a national mourning.
Its body, deposited in the Pantheon, was withdrawn from it in 1793, when the papers discovered in the iron cupboard of Louis XVI proved his collusion with the court.