René Hérault

Born in Rouen, he was the son of a tax collector, Louis Hérault (1645-1724), and his wife Jeanne Charlotte Guillard de la Vacherie.

As Lieutenant General of Police, René Hérault ordered that the sewage works and refuse dumps be relocated from the city of Paris into suburbs further afield.

He issued an order, that tavern-keepers and restaurant-keepers were not to give accommodation to Masonic lodges at all, under penalty of being closed down for six months and assessed a fine of 3,000 livres (approx.

In order to discredit Freemasonry, he obtained a copy of the secret Masonic ritual from a luxury prostitute, one of whose clients was an important Freemason, and he had it published in 1737 in salacious French newspapers.

Laughter from the public upon hearing of the ridiculous secret rituals was a great embarrassment for French Freemasons and significantly hindered the penetration of Freemasonry in France for several years.

On 30 December 1739, René Hérault left the Lieutenancy General of Police, where he was replaced by his son-in-law Claude-Henri Feydeau de Marville, and he was appointed intendant of the généralité of Paris and conseiller d'État.