Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Hotel de Bourvallais, also known as the Hotel de la Grande-Chancellerie, is a former mansion built between 1699 and 1702 by architect Robert de Cotte for the Marquis Joseph-Guillaume de La Vieuville. Located at No 13 Place Vendôme in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, it was acquired in 1706 by the financier Claude Guyhou de Bruslon, then passed to his son-in-law, the farmer-general Paul Poisson de Bourvalais. Its classical architecture and prestigious location make it a symbol of the aristocratic Paris of the early eighteenth century.

In 1718, under the Regency of Philippe d'Orléans, the hotel was confiscated by the state after the conviction of Paul Poisson de Bourvalais for financial malfeasance. An extraordinary chamber of justice, known as a burning chamber, then investigated the abuses of the financiers who had dealt with the Royal Treasury. The hotel is attributed to the Chancellery of France by a ruling of the King's Council, marking the beginning of its judicial vocation.

Since 1719, the hotel has housed the French Ministry of Justice, becoming an emblematic place for the judiciary. Despite a partial fire in 1793, some rooms, such as the former royal library transformed into a ministerial office, remained. The building, classified as a historic monument in 1982 and registered in 1991, preserves the office of Cambacérès and the sealing press used to affix the seal of the Constitution.

A citizen of the Hotel de Simiane (No. 11) and the Hotel de Gramont (No. 15, present-day Ritz Paris), the Hotel de Bourvallais is distinguished by its French garden, lined with roses and decorated with a basin. Its history reflects the political changes of France, from absolute monarchy to the Republic, while remaining a high place of judicial administration.

The successive owners, like Joseph-Guillaume de La Vieuville or Paul Poisson de Bourvallais, illustrate the links between aristocracy, finance and power under the Old Regime. After its confiscation, the hotel welcomed the chancellors of France until 1790, then the ministers of justice, including Cambacérès in 1799. Today, there remains both a heritage monument and an active place of power.

Future

Since its confiscation in 1718, the Hôtel de Bourvalais has become the seat of the French Ministry of Justice.

External links