François Walferdin

Very liberal in political outlook, in 1848 he became commissioner in Haute-Marne for the provisional government, but his civil service work eventually forced him to give up that role.

He sat on the left with the moderates and joined the commerce and industry committee as well as on 26 May 1848 signing the request which ensured future representatives' names and votes appeared in the Moniteur.

Opposing the Élysée's policy, he did not gain election to the Législative and stood for the opposition on 22 June 1857 as a candidate for the Corps législatif in the first subscription for Haute-Marne.

He was beaten by the government candidate Monsieur de Lespérut and retired into private life, receiving the Légion d'honneur in 1844 for his scientific work.

He was also a great art collector, amassing 80 paintings and over 700 drawings by Jean Honoré Fragonard, helping to bring him out of the oblivion into which he had fallen since the French Revolution.