page_title: Paris in the 17th century
section_title: City government
hierarchical_section_title: Paris in the 17th century / City government
caption_attribution_description: "Hôtel de Ville [de Paris]" (planche 81)
context_page_description: Paris in the 17th century was the largest city in Europe, with a population of half a million, matched in size only by London. It was ruled in turn by three monarchs; Henry IV, Louis XIII, and Louis XIV, and saw the building of some of the city's most famous parks and monuments, including the Pont Neuf, the Palais Royal, the newly joined Louvre and Tuileries Palace, the Place des Vosges, and the Luxembourg Garden. It was also a flourishing center of French science and the arts; it saw the founding of the Paris Observatory, the French Academy of Sciences and the first botanical garden in Paris, which also became the first park in Paris open to the public. The first permanent theater opened, the Comédie-Française was founded, and the first French opera and French ballets had their premieres. Paris became the home of the new Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, and of some of France's most famous writers, including Pierre Corneille, Jean Racine, La Fontaine and Moliere. Urban innovations for the city included the first street lighting, the first public transport, the first building code, and the first new aqueduct since Roman times.
context_section_description: King Henry IV, who frequently was short of money, made one decision which was to have fateful consequences for Paris for two centuries to follow. At the suggestion of his royal secretary, Charles Paulet, he required the hereditary nobility of France to pay an annual tax for their titles. This tax, called "la Paullete" for the secretary, was so successful that it was expanded, so that wealthy Parisians who were not noble could purchase positions which gave them noble rank.  When kings needed more money, they simply created more positions. By 1665, during the reign of Louis XIV, there were 45,780 positions of state.  It cost 60,000 livres to become President of the Parlement of Paris, and 100,000 livres to be President of the Grand Council.
  During the reign of Louis XIII, the King's official representative in Paris was the Prévôt or Provost of Paris, who had his offices at the Châtelet fortress, but most of the day-to-day administration of the city was conducted from the recently finished Hôtel de Ville, under the direction of the Provost of the Merchants, elected by the bourgeois or upper-middle class of Paris.  The status of bourgeois was granted to those Parisians who owned a house, paid taxes, had long been resident in Paris, and had an "honorable profession", which included magistrates; lawyers and those engaged in commerce, but excluded those whose business was providing food. Almost all the Provosts for generations came from among about fifty wealthy families.   Elections were held for Provost every two years, and for the four positions of echevins,  or deputies.  After the election, held on August 16 of even-numbered years, the new Provost and new echevins were taken by carriage to the Louvre where they took an oath in person to the King and Queen.
  The position of Provost of the Merchants had no salary, but it had many benefits.  The Provost received 250,000 livres a year for expenses, he was exempt from certain taxes, and he could import goods without duty into the city.  He wore an impressive ceremonial costume of a velour robe, silk habit and a crimson cloak, and was entitled to cover his horse and his dress his household servants in a special red livery.  He had his own honor guard, made up of twelve men chosen from the bourgeoisie, and he was always accompanied by four of these guards when about the city on official business.
  The Provost was assisted by twenty-four conseillers de ville, a city council, who were chosen by the Provost and echevins, when there was an opening. Beneath the Provost and echevins there were numerous municipal officials, all selected from the bourgeoisie;  two procureurs, three receveurs, a greffier, ten huissiers, a Master of Bridges, a Commissaire  of the Quais, fourteen guardians of the city gates, and the Governor of the clock tower.  Most of the positions of the Bureau of the City had to be purchased with a large sum of money, but once acquired, many of them could be held for life.  Each of the sixteen quarters or neighborhoods of the city also had its own administrator, called a quarternier, who had eight deputies, called dizainiers.  These positions had small salaries but were prestigious and came with generous tax exemptions.
  The Bureau of the City had its own courts and prison. The city officials were responsible for maintaining order in the city, fire safety, and security in the Paris streets. They assured that the gates were closed and locked at night, and that the chains were put up on the streets. They were responsible for the city's small armed force,  the Milice Municipale and the Chevaliers de la guet, or night watchmen.  The local officials of each quarter were responsible for keeping lists of the residents of every house in their neighborhoods, and also keeping track of strangers. They recorded the name of a traveler coming into the quarter, whether he stayed in a hotel, a cabaret with rooms, or a private home.
  During the second half of the 17th century, most of the independent institutions of the Parisian bourgeois  had their powers taken away and transferred to the 
caption: The Hôtel de Ville in 1683
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2011:12:25 21:12:17", "Image ExifOffset": "2182", "Image Padding": "[]", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2011:12:25 21:12:17", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2011:12:25 21:12:17", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1527", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1514", "EXIF Padding": "[]"}