Controller-General of Finances
His father was Lieutenant General of Police and Controller-General of Finances, one of the most important positions in the Ancien Régime. He was a member of the "Noblesse de robe" or Nobles of the robe, a class that formed the Second Estate whose rank derived from holding judicial or administrative posts. They were usually hard-working professionals, unlike the aristocratic "Noblesse d'épée" or Nobles of the Sword. His grandfather and great-grandfather both served as French ambassador to the Republic of Venice.