Ariste Jacques Trouvé-Chauvel was born in La Suze-sur-Sarthe, Sarthe, on 8 November 1805 (17 Brumaire year XIV).

[2] He worked for a merchant in Le Havre from 1826 to 1830, and then spent three years in manufacturing companies in England, Scotland and Ireland.

He soon expanded his operations to discounting letter of exchange and settling commercial trades, a common practice at the time when there were no banks in the provinces to provide these services.

[3] He gave a speech during a visit to the town by Prince Louis, Duke of Nemours that criticized the Orleans regime.

[2] Trouvé-Chauvel was returned as Mayor of Le Mans after the February Revolution of 1848, and was named General Commissioner of the Republic in the departments of Maine-et-Loire and Mayenne.

Trouvé-Chauvel managed to organize a mutual credit association of the bankers of Sarthe, Orne, Mayenne and Maine-et-Loire, which became a National Discount Counter that began to operate on 15 May 1848.

When the coup of 2 December 1851 was announced, a false rumor was spread in Le Mans of the failure of the Caisse de la Sarthe.

On the morning on 5 December 1851 he took up arms with the workers of his tannery at La Suze, but when the success of the coup was confirmed he fled the country.

There he found Victor Hugo and made plans to launch a liberal periodical, but the project was abandoned due to lack of funds.