François-Jean Bralle (11 January 1750 – 12 June 1832) was a French architect and engineer, best known as for the construction of fountains in Paris during the time of Napoleon Bonaparte.
During the French Revolution and under the French Consulate of Napoleon, he was named director of the machine de Marly, which pumped water from Seine to feed to fountains of the Gardens of Versailles.
On May 2, 1806, Napoleon issued the Decree of Saint Cloud, which began, "Beginning next July 1, water will flow from all the fountains of Paris day and night, in a manner to provide water not only for individual persons and the needs of the public, but also to refresh the atmosphere and to clean the streets.
"[1] The decree ordered that existing fountains be cleaned and put into working order and supplied with fresh water from aqueducts, that steam and hydraulic pumps be repaired, and that "In the city of Paris fifteen new fountains will be erected, for which the projects will be submitted to the Minister of the Interior."
The project of supplying water and building the fountains was given to Francois-Jean Bralle, who held the title of Chef du service des eaux de la Ville de Paris.