View source for Nicolas Fouquet

{{short description|French official (1615–1680)}}
{{for|the French-American fashion designer born in 1983|Nick Fouquet}}
{{Infobox person
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|image         = Portrait Nicolas Fouquet par Charles Le Brun.jpg
|caption       = Portrait by [[Charles Le Brun]]
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|nationality   = French
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|known_for     = [[Superintendent of Finances]] in France
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'''Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux''' ({{IPA|fr|nikɔla fukɛ}}; 27 January 1615 – 23 March 1680) was the [[Superintendent of Finances]] in France from 1653 until 1661 under [[King Louis XIV]]. He had a glittering career, and acquired enormous wealth. He fell out of favor, accused of [[peculation]] (maladministration of the state's funds) and ''[[lèse-majesté]]'' (disrespect to the monarch). The king had him imprisoned from 1661 until his death in 1680.

==Early life==
Nicolas Fouquet was born in Paris to an influential family of the ''[[noblesse de robe]]'' (members of the nobility under the [[Ancien Régime]] who had high positions in government, especially in law and finance). He was the second child of François IV Fouquet (who held numerous high positions in government) and of Marie de Maupeou (who came from a family of the ''noblesse de robe'' and who was famous for her piety and charitable works).<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Dessert|first=Daniel|title=Argent, pouvoir et société au grand siècle|publisher=Fayard|year=1984|isbn=2-213-01485-X|location=Paris|language=fr}}</ref><sup>:18–23,</sup><ref name=":6" />

[[File:Blason famille Fouquet.svg|left|thumb|Coat-of-arms of the Fouquet family. The family motto was ‘Quo non ascendet?’ (‘What heights will he not scale?’). Fouquet means ‘squirrel’ in one of the local dialects of the west of France.<ref name=":1" /><sup>:21, 28</sup>]]

Contrary to the pretensions of the family, the Fouquets did not come from a lineage of noble blood. They were originally, in fact, merchants in the cloth trade, based in Angers. Fouquet's father later amassed great wealth as a shipowner in Brittany. He was noticed by [[Cardinal Richelieu]], who gave him important positions in government. In 1628, he became an executive associate in the [[Company of the American Islands]],<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=de Maupeou |first=Jacques |date=1949 |title=La Mère de Fouquet |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44206996 |journal=Hommes et Mondes |volume=9 |issue=34 |pages=73–90 |jstor=44206996 |issn=0994-5873}}</ref> a chartered company for the colonization of French Islands, including missionary work and trade and investment.<ref name=":0" /><sup>:18–23</sup>

Fouquet's family was extremely devout. They had planned that Nicolas would join the clergy. Out of the family’s 11 children<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=Généalogie de François Fouquet |url=https://gw.geneanet.org/pierfit?lang=fr&n=fouquet&oc=1&p=francois|access-date=2022-01-30|website=Geneanet|language=fr}}</ref> who survived into adulthood, all 5 girls took vows. Among the male children, 4 took the cloth and 2 became bishops.<ref name=":6" /> Only Nicolas and his brother Gilles were laymen.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dessert|first=Daniel|title=Argent, pouvoir et société au grand siècle|publisher=Fayard|year=1984|isbn=2-213-01485-X|location=Paris|language=fr}} {{verify source |date=September 2023 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/1068294349 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/1068292150 cite #1 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC_bot/Job_18]]}}</ref><sup>:51</sup>

After some preliminary schooling with the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]] at the age of 13, Fouquet received his law degree from the University of Paris. Richelieu advised Fouquet on this career choice.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Petitfils |first=Jean-Christian |title=Fouquet |publisher=Perrin |year=1998 |isbn=2262023328 |location=Paris |language=fr}}</ref><sup>:40</sup>

==Political career==
In 1634, Fouquet was appointed councilor of the Parliament of Metz. Richelieu charged him with the sensitive task of verifying the accounts to determine whether or not [[Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine|Charles IV of Lorraine]] was skimming money that rightfully was due to the King of France. Fouquet, still a teenager, accomplished this task with ''brio''.<ref name=":1" /><sup>:40–41</sup> In 1636, at just 20, his father bought him the post of ''[[Master of Requests (France)|maître des requêtes]]'' for 150,000 livres (under the Ancien Régime, many government posts were purchased by the people holding them).<sup>[[Nicolas Fouquet#cite note-:0-1|[1]]],</sup><ref name="zeit" /> In 1640, he married the rich and well-connected Louise Fourché and received around 160,000 livres from the dowry, plus other rents and land. Louise died in 1641 at the age of 21, six months after giving birth to a daughter. Fouquet was 26 years old.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Généalogie de Nicolas Fouquet le Surintendant des finances|url=https://gw.geneanet.org/pierfit?lang=fr&n=fouquet&oc=0&p=nicolas|access-date=2022-01-31|website=Geneanet|language=fr}}</ref>

Cardinal Richelieu died in 1642, but Fouquet was successful in impressing his successor as chief minister, [[Cardinal Mazarin]], who became his protector (over the long term, the relationship was tense<ref name=":4" /><sup>:59–60</sup>). From 1642 to 1650, Fouquet held various [[Intendant|intendancies]], at first in the provinces and then with the army of Mazarin.<ref name=":1" /> In 1648, Fouquet was named general intendant of Paris, right as the second [[The Fronde|Fronde]] broke out. He ably came to the aid of Mazarin and the Queen Mother, [[Anne of Austria]] (who was regent for the young [[Louis XIV]]) in defense of the monarchy. As a result, Fouquet earned the lasting loyalty and support of both Mazarin<ref name=":4" /><sup>:30</sup> and Anne.

These high-level positions raised his profile with the court. He was permitted in 1650 to buy, for 450,000 livres, the important position of ''procureur général'' to the ''parlement'' of Paris, thereby raising him to the most elite ranks of the ''noblesse de robe''. [[File:0 Réplique du portrait de Marie-Madeleine de Castille - Charles Le Brun.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Marie-Madeleine de Castille the Spouse of Nicolas Fouquet.]]

Fouquet's already great wealth was augmented by his marriage in 1651 to 15-year old Marie-Madeleine de Castille. She belonged to a wealthy, well-connected family of the ''noblesse de robe''.<ref name=":1" /><sup>:77</sup> Fouquet had five children with her.<ref name=":5" />

During Mazarin's exile during the second Fronde, Fouquet remained loyal to him, protecting his possessions and informing him of what was happening in the court.<ref name=":4" /><sup>:59–60</sup> Upon Mazarin's return, Fouquet demanded and received as a reward the office of superintendent of finance (on 7 February 1653),<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Le procès de Nicolas Fouquet |url=https://www.justice.gouv.fr/actualites/actualite/proces-nicolas-fouquet |access-date=2022-01-29 |website=justice.gouv.fr |language=fr-FR}}</ref> making him the youngest person to hold this position in the Ancien Regime.

The royal finances were in a disastrous state at this time, due to many years of war under Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin and antiquated revenue practices. Only about half of total tax revenues collected actually ended up in the royal treasury, the rest being skimmed off by various parties along the way. In this unsettled situation, Fouquet was responsible for decisions as to which funds should be used to meet the demands of the state's creditors, but also for the negotiations with the great financiers who lent money to the king.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bluche|first=François|title=Louis XIV|date=1986 |isbn=2213015686|location=Paris|language=fr}}</ref> Fouquet's willingness to honor some of the royal promises enhanced the credibility of the crown as a borrower and strengthened the credit of the government, though the controls on this process were either ineffective or non-existent. The long wars, and the greed of the courtiers, made it necessary at times for Fouquet to meet the demand for funds by borrowing upon his own good credit.<ref name=":4" /><sup>:33–42</sup> Fouquet was aware of the risks he was running{{snd}}he feared ruining his family and his friends who had helped him lend money to the crown. In December 1658, he presented his resignation to Mazarin, but, unfortunately for him, it was not accepted.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Murat|first=Inès|title=Colbert|publisher=Fayard|year=1980|isbn=2213006911|location=Paris|pages=79|language=fr}}</ref>

[[File:Kardinaal Mazarin cropped.jpg|left|thumb|Cardinal Mazarin]]

The disorder in the accounts became hopeless, but was also normal{{snd}}the kingdom had a long history of poorly controlled royal finances. In any case, debt issuance could not resolve the deplorable economic situation of the realm without an underlying ability and willingness to rein in expenditures and to bring in tax revenues. Fouquet became the central actor in a debt situation that was fundamentally untenable. Fouquet had drawn up a plan to bring some order to public finances, but he never made progress in implementing it, though it was taken up later by Colbert.<ref name=":4" /><sup>:63</sup> Instead, it was business as usual: fraudulent operations were entered into with impunity, and the financiers were maintained in the position of clients via official favours and generous aid whenever they needed it. In the meantime, the peasants and commoners in the cities paid the price for this disorder.<ref name=":4" /><sup>:33–42</sup>

With Mazarin's death on 9 March 1661, Fouquet expected to be made chief minister, but Louis XIV was suspicious of his loyalty to the crown and his poorly disguised ambition. Upon assuming his kingly duties, it was with Fouquet in mind that Louis XIV made the well known statement that he would be his own chief minister. Colbert, perhaps seeking to succeed Fouquet,<ref>[[Andrew Lossky|Lossky, Andrew]] (1967), ''The Seventeenth Century: 1600–1715''. Free Press. p. 280.</ref> fed the king's displeasure with adverse reports about the deficit and unflattering reports about Fouquet. However, Fouquet had some protections{{snd}}his high position at the ''parlement'' (he remained ''procureur général'') gave him immunity from prosecution by any authority except the ''Parlement'', which he largely controlled.<ref name=":3" /> Another reason Fouquet may have felt secure is that what he was doing was not necessarily illegal{{snd}}even Colbert later admitted that "Fouquet managed to conduct his robbery while keeping his hands clean."<ref name=":4" /><sup>:40</sup>

== Vaux-le-Vicomte ==
[[Image:Vaux-le-Vicomte 01.jpg|thumb|Rhythmic massing of the entrance front of [[Vaux-le-Vicomte]]]]
In 1641, the 26-year old Fouquet purchased the manor of [[Vaux-le-Vicomte]] and its small castle located 50&nbsp;km south east of Paris. He spent enormous sums over a period of 20 years building a château on his estate. In terms of its size, magnificence and interior decor, the chateau was the forerunner of the [[Palace of Versailles]]. To design it, he brought together a team that the king later used for Versailles: the architect [[Louis Le Vau]], the painter [[Charles Le Brun]], and the garden designer [[André le Nôtre]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Three centuries of history|url=https://vaux-le-vicomte.com/en/decouvrir/the-history/three-centuries-of-history/|access-date=2022-02-01|website=Vaux le Vicomte|language=en-US}}</ref>

At Vaux and other major properties he owned (notably, his estate in [[Saint-Mandé]], which bordered on the [[Château de Vincennes]]), Fouquet gathered rare manuscripts, paintings, jewels and antiques in profusion, and above all surrounded himself with artists and authors. [[Jean de La Fontaine]], [[Pierre Corneille]], Molière, [[Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné|Madame de Sevigné]] and [[Paul Scarron]] were a few of the many artists and authors who received his invitations, and for some, his patronage.<ref name=":4" /><sup>:89–90</sup>

These extravagant expenditures and displays of the superintendent's wealth ultimately intensified the ill-will of the king.

== Colonial and maritime activities ==
[[Image:Belle Ile Vauban.jpg|thumb|The [[Fortifications of Vauban|Vauban Citadel]] in Le Palais, [[Belle-Île]], owned by Fouquet]]
In 1638, Fouquet received as a gift some of his father's shares in the Company of the American Islands. In 1640, he became one of the first shareholders in the Société du Cap Nord and, in 1642, of the [[Louis XIV's East India Company|East India Company]] (Société des Indes Orientales). After his father’s death in 1641, he inherited and managed the family's interests in several other chartered companies for French colonization (Sénégal, New France). Moreover, the family, through Fouquet's father and other family ties, was already active in maritime transport and had a network of influential contacts in Brittany.<sup>[[Nicolas Fouquet#cite note-:0-1|1]]:131</sup>

Over a period of many years, Fouquet undertook to develop these existing strengths. Specifically, Fouquet was active in attempting to forward the French colonial effort and in developing the coast of Brittany as a major location for hosting maritime trade. He cultivated high ranking friends in Brittany. He bought numerous armed ships and proceeded with a quasi-military development,<ref name=":1" /><sup>:315</sup> apparently without informing the king.

As part of this undertaking, Fouquet had bought [[Belle-Île|Belle-Île-en-Mer]] in 1658, an island off the coast of Brittany. He strengthened the island’s existing fortifications and built a port and warehouses (he also fortified the [[île d'Yeu]]). These were major construction projects which caused the king enough concern that he had a spy sent to Belle-Île-en-Mer. The spy reported that there was a garrison of 200 soldiers, 400 cannon and a stockpile of ammunition sufficient for a force of 6000 soldiers. Fouquet planned to use Belle-Île as a refuge in case of disgrace.<ref name=":1" /><sup>:315,</sup><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|date=2020-07-25|title=[CEH] L'arrestation de Nicolas Fouquet (1/2)|url=https://www.vexilla-galliae.fr/civilisation/histoire/ceh-larrestation-de-nicolas-fouquet-1-2/|access-date=2022-01-30|website=Vexilla Galliae|language=fr-FR}}</ref>

Heightening the concerns of the king, Fouquet was found to have ordered several warships in the Netherlands, which could have served both his colonial ambitions and as an implicit threat to the king.<ref name=":2" /> In addition, Fouquet used a straw man to assume the position of [[Viceroy]] (''vice-roi'') of the Americas without the king’s knowledge.<ref name=":3" />

==Arrest==
On 17 August 1661, Louis was entertained at [[Vaux-le-Vicomte]] with a sumptuous fête, at which [[Molière]]'s ''Les Fâcheux'' was produced for the first time. The fête also included a lavish meal served on gold and silver plates for hundreds of members of the court; there were also fireworks, a ballet and light shows. The king was astounded by this display of luxury.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

Although this fête is sometimes cited as the reason for Fouquet's downfall,<ref name=":2" /> Louis XIV secretly was plotting with Colbert to get rid of him in May and June 1661. The splendour of the entertainment only aggravated Fouquet's precarious position by calling attention to the immense gap between his ostentatious wealth and the visible poverty of the crown.<ref name=":1" /><sup>334,</sup><ref>Louis XIV so states in a letter to his mother, dated 5 September 1661, reproduced in English translation in Lossky (1967: 340–342).</ref>

The king was also concerned about Fouquet's carefully cultivated network of friends and clients, which made him one of the most influential individuals in the realm.<ref name=":2"/> Then only 22 years old, the king was afraid to act openly against so powerful a minister.<ref>For the king's caution, see, for example, letter of Louis XIV to the Comte d'Estrades, dated 16 September 1661, reproduced in English translation in Lossky (1967: 342–345).</ref> As a child, Louis had observed the armed conflict that threatened his monarchy during the Fronde and had solid reasons to be concerned about rebellion. As superintendent, Fouquet headed the enormously wealthy and influential corps of ''partisans'' ([[Farm (revenue leasing)|tax farmers]]), which, if challenged as a group, could have caused the king serious trouble.<ref>Braudel, Fernand (1979), ''The Wheels of Commerce [Les Jeux de l'Echange]: Civilization and Capitalism 15th–18th Century, v. 2''. English ed., Sîan Rynolds (transl.), Harper & Row (1982) pp. 538–539.</ref>

By crafty devices, Fouquet was induced to sell his office of ''procureur général'', causing him to lose his immunity from royal prosecution; he paid the money received from the sale (about 1 million livres) into the royal treasury as a gesture to earn the favor of the king.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dessert|first=Daniel|title=Argent, pouvoir et société au grand siècle|publisher=Fayard|year=1984|isbn=2-213-01485-X|location=Paris|language=fr}} {{verify source |date=September 2023 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/1068294349 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/1068292150 cite #1 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC_bot/Job_18]]}}</ref>:140,<ref name=":3"/> At the same time, he was weighed down by his own recent ''faux pas''{{snd}}notably, when he tried unsuccessfully to recruit a mistress of the king as a spy (the mistress refused Fouquet's offer of money and duly reported it to the king).<ref name=":2" />

After his visit to Vaux, the king announced that he was going to Nantes for the opening of the meeting of the provincial estates of Brittany. He required his ministers, including Fouquet, to go with him. On 5 September 1661, Fouquet was leaving the council chamber, flattered with the assurance of the king's esteem, when he was arrested by [[D'Artagnan|d’Artagnan]], lieutenant of the king's musketeers. It is reported that the arrest took Fouquet completely by surprise because he apparently thought that he was very much in the king's good graces.<ref name=":3"/> He initially was imprisoned at the [[Château d'Angers|Chateau d’Angers]].<ref name=":2" />

== Trial and life imprisonment ==
The trial lasted almost three years. Many procedural aspects of the investigation and trial were highly questionable, even by the standards of the 17th century. For example, the officials charged with the investigation answered directly to Fouquet's arch-enemy, [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert]]; the trial was held before a special court where judges and prosecutors were handpicked by Colbert for being hostile to Fouquet and sympathetic to the king;<ref name=":7">{{cite book|series=Fayard|author=Inés Murat|date=1980|isbn=2-213-00691-1|location=Paris|pages=420–421|title=Colbert<!-- |total_pages=475 -->}}</ref><sup>:156</sup> and the trial was held in written form{{snd}}Fouquet, a convincing orator, was not allowed to speak in his own defense.<ref name=":2" />

Nevertheless, some of the charges against Fouquet were supported by evidence that Fouquet found difficult to refute, notably the ‘cassette of [[Saint-Mandé|Saint Mandé]]’. The cassette contained incriminating documents that had been found after his arrest; they were hidden behind a mirror in Fouquet's estate near Paris. The cassette contained a plan of defence written in 1657 at a time when Fouquet was on bad terms with Mazarin, that was modified in 1659. The plan instructed his supporters on what they should do if he were ever to be arrested, including taking up arms. It also envisaged a naval operation in the Bay of the Seine.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Galliae|first=Vexilla|date=2020-07-31|title=[CEH] L'arrestation de Nicolas Fouquet (2/2)|url=https://www.vexilla-galliae.fr/civilisation/histoire/ceh-larrestation-de-nicolas-fouquet-2-2/|access-date=2022-02-02|website=Vexilla Galliae|language=fr-FR}}</ref>

The accusations that were the subject of the trial could be punishable by death.<ref name=":2" /> They were:
* Misdeeds in the administration of royal finances and misuse of public funds (''peculat'', a capital crime). This accusation included: appropriation of large sums of the Crown’s money; receiving payments from illegally acquired rents; lending money to the king while serving as ''ordonnateur'' (a public function for regulating public expenditures and receipts); and the private use of funds from the royal treasury.
* The crime of ''lèse-majesté'', including the purchase of Belle-Île without the king’s authorization; corruption of royal officers and governors in a fortified place; and conflict of interest, notably with high-ranking members of the king’s court.<ref name=":2" />

During the trial, French public sympathy tended to support Fouquet. [[Jean de La Fontaine|La Fontaine]], [[Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné|Madame de Sévigné]], [[Jean Loret]], and many others wrote on his behalf.

The guilty verdict and the sentence of banishment were handed down on 20 December 1664{{snd}}out of 22 judges, 13 were for banishment and 9 were for the death penalty.<ref name=":7" /> The king, disappointed with what he regarded as a lenient decision, "commuted" the sentence to life imprisonment at the fort of [[Pignerol]] and confiscation of Fouquet's property.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Morand|first=Paul|title=Fouquet, ou Le Soleil offusqué|publisher=Gallimard, collection Folio Histoire|year=1985|isbn=2-07-032314-5|location=Paris|language=fr}}</ref><sup>:167</sup> He also launched a vendetta against Fouquet's friends, supporters and family.<ref>A report of Fouquet's trial was published in the Netherlands, in 15 volumes, in 1665–67, in spite of the remonstrances which Colbert addressed to the [[Estates General (France)|Estates-General]]. A second edition under the title of ''Oeuvres de M. Fouquet'' appeared in 1696.</ref><sup>,</sup><ref name=":4"/><sup>:150–152</sup>[[File:Citadelle de Pignerol.jpg|thumb|Seventeenth century etching of the Citadel of Pignerol, where Fouquet was imprisoned for 15 years and where he died in 1680.]]In December 1664, Fouquet was taken to the prison fortress of [[Pinerolo|Pignerol]] in the Alps (in what is now Italy). He remained there, incarcerated in harsh conditions, until his death in 1680.

There, [[Eustache Dauger]], the man identified by historical research as the [[Man in the Iron Mask]] but whose real name never was spoken or written, is said to have served as one of Fouquet's valets (but the link between Fouquet's imprisonment and the Man in the Iron Mask is controversial<ref name=":2" />). Fouquet's wife was not allowed to write to him until 1672 and she was allowed to visit him only once, in 1679.<ref name="zeit">{{cite news|author=Volker Steinkamp|title=Das letzte Fest des Nicolas Foucquet|newspaper=Die Zeit|date=14 August 2011|url=http://www.zeit.de/2011/33/Foucquet/komplettansicht|language=de}}</ref> The former minister bore his imprisonment with fortitude; he composed several translations and devotionals there.<ref name=":4"/><sup>:156, 167</sup>

==Death==
According to official records, Fouquet died in [[Pignerol]] on 23 March 1680. His son, the Count of Vaux, was with him when he died. Although no death certificate was established, he is said to have died of [[apoplexy]] following a long illness. He was initially buried in the local church, Saint Claire de Pignerol. However, a year after his death, his remains were moved from there to the unmarked family crypt in the [[Temple du Marais|Église Sainte-Marie-des-Anges]] in Paris.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pénin|first=Marie-Christine|title=Couvent des Filles de la Visitation Sainte-Marie de la rue Saint-Antoine|url=http://www.tombes-sepultures.com/crbst_953.html|website=Tombes Sépultures dans les cimetières et autres lieux}}</ref>

==In fiction==
Fouquet's story is often entwined with that of the [[Man in the Iron Mask]], who is often identified as the true king or even as an identical twin brother of Louis XIV. As such, he is a pivotal character in [[Alexandre Dumas]]' novel ''[[The Vicomte de Bragelonne]]'', where he is depicted heroically. [[Aramis]], an ally of Fouquet, tries to seize power by replacing Louis XIV with his identical twin brother. It is Fouquet who, out of sheer loyalty to the crown, foils Aramis's plot and saves Louis. This does not, however, prevent his downfall.

[[James Whale]]'s film ''[[The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 film)|The Man in the Iron Mask]]'' (1939) is very loosely adapted from Dumas' novel, and by contrast, depicts Fouquet as the story's main villain, who tries to keep the existence of the king's twin brother a secret. Fouquet is portrayed by [[Joseph Schildkraut]]. In the [[The Man in the Iron Mask (1977 film)|1977 version]], Fouquet is portrayed by [[Patrick McGoohan]]. In ''[[The Fifth Musketeer]]'' (1979), based on the same novel, he is portrayed by [[Ian McShane]]. In a departure from history, most of these films show him dying in the 1660s.

Fouquet was portrayed by Robert Lindsay in Nick Dear's play ''Power''.

Fouquet's life (and his rivalry with Colbert) is one of the background plots/stories in the historical novel ''[[Imprimatur (novel)|Imprimatur]]'' by [[Rita Monaldi]] and [[Francesco Sorti]].

Fouquet and his arrest also figure prominently in [[Roberto Rossellini]]'s 1966 film ''[[The Taking of Power by Louis XIV]]'', where Fouquet is played by Pierre Barrat.

In the second of [[Peter Greenaway]]'s [[The Tulse Luper Suitcases|''Tulse Luper'' films]], a Nazi general by the name of Foestling, played by [[Marcel Iureș]], becomes obsessed with Fouquet and attempts to recreate his life and death.

Fouquet is described but not mentioned by name in an episode of HBO's ''[[The Sopranos]]''. Carmine Lupertazzi Jr. makes a comparison of John Sacrimoni to King Louis' finance minister who tried to outshine him and his estate: "In the end, Louis clapped him in irons".
----
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Fouquet, Nicolas|volume=10|pages=750–751}}
*The page numbers the biographies of Fouquet written by Dessert and Petitfils are taken from the French Wikipedia article about Fouquet.

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*[http://www.gutenberg.org/authors/cheruel Mémoires sur la vie publique et privée de Fouquet, surintendant des finance et sur son frère l'abbé Fouquet]
*[http://www.vaux-le-vicomte.com/en/decouvrir/the-history/nicolas-fouquet/ Biography of Fouquet at Vaux-le-Vicomte]
{{Finance Ministers of France}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fouquet, Nicolas}}
[[Category:1615 births]]
[[Category:1680 deaths]]
[[Category:Politicians from Paris]]
[[Category:Finance ministers of France]]
[[Category:French marquesses]]
[[Category:French Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Viscounts of France]]
[[Category:Ancien Régime office-holders]]
[[Category:French prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment]]
[[Category:French people who died in prison custody]]
[[Category:Prisoners of the Bastille]]
[[Category:Man in the Iron Mask]]
[[Category:Monarchy and money]]
[[Category:People from the Province of Île-de-France]]