NICOLAS FOUQUET, THE MAN WHO OFFENDED THE KING

Exceptional destinies

An episode from the series SECRETS OF HISTORY - PORTRAITS

Synopsis

In charge of the country's finances under Louis XIV, Nicolas Fouquet, patron of the greatest artists, experienced a meteoric rise, followed by an equally vertiginous descent into hell.

The Sun King was disgruntled by the display of wealth of his confidant, owner of the magnificent castle of Vaux-le-Vicomte. The last straw was Fouquet's grandiose celebration on August 17, 1761, considered a provocation by the sovereign.

Envied and accused overnight of stealing from the king, he ended his life in a freezing cell.