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 the debates over the conquest of Dahomey. He and Jules Delahaye brought up the Panama scandals, and he made a speech in which he denounced the manipulations of the so-called 104 parliamentarians. This proved fatal to him, and both he and Delahaye failed to be reelected in 1893. Le Provost de Launay was defeated by the republican candidate Paul Le Troadec, who won 5,578 votes to his 4,843. His opponent was a farmer who was Mayor of Lézardrieux and a general councilor. Le Provost de Launay was elected to the Senate on 16 February 1896. He defeated the Marquis de