Noted French physiocrat.

Councillor at the Parlement of Paris (1747-59). Intendant at Martinique (1759-64). Advised Catherine the Great on a new legal code for Russia; also acquainted with Prince Henry of Prussia. Published several works on political philosophy, most notably L’ordre naturel et essentiel des sociétés politiques (2 vols., Paris, 1767), in which he popularized Quesnay’s economic doctrines and advocated absolute monarchy.