François de Franquetot de Coigny

He was born in Coigny château near Coutances, Normandy, into an old French noble family as son of Robert-Jean de Coigny, and his wife, Marie-Françoise de Matignon (1648-1719).

His uncle was Charles-Auguste de Goyon-Matignon, Count of Gacé (1647-1729), Marshal of France and his nephew Jacques I, Prince of Monaco.

His most notable victories were at San Pietro and Guastalla, which he won in 1734 together with Marshal de Broglie against the Austrians in the War of Polish Succession.

In the War of the Austrian Succession he replaced Marshal de Broglie in 1743 to defend the French positions on the Rhine.

In the 1720s he was a member of the Club de l'Entresol, an early modern think tank.