Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay permanently stationed in Paris except in time of war. In 1776 de Launay succeeded M. de Jumilhac as Governor of the Bastille. As was the custom with many senior positions under the Ancien Régime, the marquis purchased the office of governor from his predecessor as a form of investment. The thirteen years that he spent in this position were uneventful, though on 19 December 1778 he reportedly made the mistake of failing to fire the cannon of the Bastille as a salute on the birth of a daughter (Madame Royale) to King Louis XVI. In August 1785 he was given
Louis Le Provost de Launay Louis Le Provost de Launay Louis Le Provost de Launay (8 June 1850 – 17 August 1912) was a French politician who was Deputy and then Senator for the department of Côtes-du-Nord (now called Côtes-d'Armor). He was a right-wing Bonapartist. Louis Le Provost de Launay was born on 8 June 1850 in Libourne, Gironde. His father was Auguste-Pierre-Marie Le Provost de Launay (1823–1886). His father was a prefect of the Second French Empire who was elected a representative in the National Assembly in 1874, deputy from 1877 to 1881, and senator from 1885 to 1886. Louis Le Provost de Launay