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Calonne, Charles Alexandre de 1734-1802
French politician

He was born in Douai, and held various legal and administrative positions before becoming Controller-General of Finance (1783). In 1786 he advised King Louis XVI to convoke the Assembly of Notables and distribute the burden of taxation more equally. In opening the Assembly (1787) he described the general prosperity of France, but confessed that the annual deficit of the treasury had risen to 115 million francs, and that from 1776 to 1786 the government had borrowed 1,250 million francs. The Notables demanded a statement of accounts; failing to satisfy them, he was banished to Lorraine. After this he lived chiefly in England, until in 1802 Napoleon I allowed him to return.