Database: Joseph Foullon de Doué

Considered "clever but harsh", this staunchly conservative Intendant of Finances would be one of the first victims of a populace venting fury over lack of food and high taxes. Just before the fall of the Bastille, he had the misfortune of replacing Jacques Necker, who was lauded as the savior of France by the starving masses who knew only that under Necker, taxes were lower. In the popular imagination, Foullon, along with his son-in-law, Bertier de Sauvigny, bore some responsibility for the food-shortages that plagued the nation throughout the period. By legend he had said during an early famine, "If they're so hungry, they can graze on hay." Foullon met an unpleasant end. Taken from his refuge in the countryside, he was marched barefoot to Paris, whipped with nettles, made to carry a bundle of hay and given only peppered vinegar to drink. After several attempted hangings, he was beheaded and his head paraded in the streets on the end of a pike.