Charles-Louis Huguet de Sémonville

Charles-Louis Huguet, marquis of Sémonville is a Politician and Diplomate French. It was born with Paris the March 9th 1759 and died there the April 11th 1839.

The young revolutionist

He is the son of Huguet de Montaran which was made cabinet under the reign of Louis XV. To advise with the Parliament of Paris at 19 years, he is vigorously opposed to the reform Loménie de Brienne in July 1787 and is one of the members of Parliament to claim the meeting of the General states. With several of its fellow-members, it is sent to Troyes after the bed of justice of August 1787, following this sling of the Parliament.

Temporary deputy of Paris to the General states of 1789, Charles-Louis de Sémonville was very related to Mirabeau, it prepares his defection in favor of the Court. He attends also actively Talleyrand, Fayette and the Count de Provence, future Louis XVIII. Near to Montmorin, Foreign Minister, it is charged to fulfill a secret mission in the Belgium risen against the emperor Joseph II in 1790.

The diplomat

Its many and useful relations enable him to take down the plenipotentiary post of minister close to the République of Genoa of November 20th, 1790 and on August 11th 1792. Its reputation of Jacobin is worth many difficulties to him, so much so that when its legation is joined together with that of Turin, he sees prohibited stay on the Sardinian territory. Appointed ambassador of France to Constantinople, it cannot for the same reasons go to its station. Sémonville is then sent in Corsica and there meets Napoleon Bonaparte. Victim of a denunciation, it takes again the way of Paris in order to be cleared. One charges it with a new mission in Constantinople, it makes the way with his friend Hugues-Bernard Maret, sent to Naples, but they are made prisoners by the Austrians on July 25th 1793 with Novate Mezzola, in the Grisons in Suisse, and are imprisoned with Mantoue then with Kufstein, in Austria. They are exchanged against Mrs Royale, girl of Louis XVI in 1795, after twenty-nine month of captivity.

Of return to Paris, Sémonville deals with touching the allowances to which he claims to have right because of his long detention in Austria. Paul Barred, the strong man of the Directoire, charges it with several specific missions.

After the Coup d'etat of the 18 brumaire year VIII (November 9th 1799), during which it plays only one occult part, it is named by Napoleon Bonaparte ambassador plenipotentiary then ambassador extraordinary with $the Hague. This mission is difficult because the Bataves put all the unwillingness of the world to answer waitings of Sémonville but its talent of diplomat allows France and the Batavian République to remain allied, in spite of the differences of interests and characters of the two nations.

The member of Parliament

Named senator on February 1st 1805, it returns to Paris and deals naturally with the tackled questions of diplomacy with the Sénat. It is made count of the Empire on May 8th 1808. After the divorce of Napoleon and Joséphine, he plays a sufficiently important part in the choice of Napoleon for Austrian the Marie-Louise so that the emperor François Ier decorates it with the imperial Ordre of Léopold. Feeling that the Campagne of Russia (1812) is carrying many disasters, it takes little by little its distances with the imperial capacity. Napoleon names it last once extraordinary police chief with Bourges to mobilize all the supplied energies, i.e. to accelerate the conscription and to muzzle the oppositions. Sémonville there plays an ambiguous part and returns to Paris after the abdication of Napoleon on April 6th 1814 to Fontainebleau.

Sémonville takes a big part in the drafting of the Charte of 1814. He having allowed to escape the charges carried against him in the business Favras in 1789, Louis XVIII the Even fact of France and “large chief clerk”, new function created for him which corresponds, in some kinds, with the president's functions of the room. Its role is that of an intermediary between the king and the Chambre of the Pars.

Calculator, it keeps away in its castle from Pirou, close to Coutances (Manche), during the Hundred Days. However, its two adoptive sons make different choices: the general Charles-Tristan de Montholon joint with Louis-Desired Napoleon but of Montholon flees with Louis XVIII with Ghent.

After Waterloo, and in spite of the departure of the Montholon general for Grey waxbill with Napoleon, Louis XVIII confirms Sémonville in his armchair of par and large chief clerk. He shows himself little with the platform of the Upper House, preferring to act as slides, in accordance with his temperament and with his load. He represents his Room with all the protocolar ceremonies. He is made marquis in 1817.

With the return of his/her son after the death of Napoleon in 1821, Sémonville makes play its relations to accelerate the execution of the will of Napoleon whose Montholon is the principal recipient. This legacy does not prevent the bankruptcy of the general, which assigns the Sémonville old man largely.

The role of Sémonville in the days of the Glorious Three is well-known. Having learned like everyone the publication from famous “the Ordinances from Saint-Cloud” and feeling the danger which they represent for monarchy, the large chief clerk goes to Saint-Cloud to try to inflect the position of Charles X. In vain. He announces on August 2nd the abdication of the king to the Room of the Pars. Louis-Philippe Ier confirms it in its functions. Of share its role in the revolution of 1830, he is the witness high-speed motorboat of the Procès of the ministers of Charles X. It succeeds in moving strongly the audience however hostile by reporting its conversation with Charles X.

Sémonville resigns of its station of large chief clerk on November 21st, 1834 and is replaced by the duke Decazes. It is not withdrawn in Versailles, not appearing any more but exceptionally with the Room.

He dies on April 11th, 1839 in Paris while falling into the staircases from his hotel.

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord had called it the old cat because of its sharp intelligence and its talents for the trick.

With Talleyrand and Fouché, it is one of the men to have lent the most oaths during its career with a total of 17 oaths of fidelity. It was Grand Cross of the Légion of honor and knight of the Austrian order of Léopold.

Publications

Of the need for assembling the General states in the current circumstances, and of the non-admission of the stamp , Paris, 1787;
Reflections on the capacities and instructions to be given by the provinces to their deputies the State-generals , Paris, 1789;

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