alternatehistory.com

Nicolas Fouquet (1615-1680) was the powerful Surintendant des Finances of France from 1653 to 1661. He was extremly rich and influential but he was also too ambitious for his own good as he saw himself as a possible successor to Mazarin when the Cardinal died. Sadly for him, Louis XIV was weary (and according to some authors even jealous) of Fouquet's wealth and power and thus the Sun King took a serious dislike in his Surintendant des Finances. This wasn't help by the fact Colbert also wanted Fouquet's downfall because of how he dealt with the crown's finances. In the end, Fouquet was arrested and, after a trial, imprisonned in Pignerol where he died.

However, let's say Fouquet is able to stay in power: it's probably hard to do given the characters involved, but it could be possible if he isn't tricked into selling his position of Procureur général du Parlement de Paris (as long as he held that position, Louis XIV refused to act against him). So let's say Fouquet manages to keep his position: how could that affect French politics?
Top