Marie Durand (1711-1776)
For the French protestants, Marie Durand symbolized those who resisted religious intolerance after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
Samuel Bernard (1615-1687)
Samuel Bernard came from a Reformed Church family and was a key member of the group of Protestant artists who contributed so much to the XVIIth century. He recanted after...
Mathieu Lespagnandelle (1616-1689)
This sculptor, who was from a Protestant background and who worked for the king, was torn between his own inherited beliefs and Catholicism – a personal conflict which was typical...
Louis Testelin (1615-1655)
At the time Louis Testelin was an artist, belonging to the Reformed Church did not prevent one from having a brilliant career.
The Mallet Bank
The Mallet Bank was founded in 1713, and peaked in the 19th century. Its managers contributed to economic and industrial development.
Isaac Mallet (1684-1779)
Isaac Mallet was the descendant of a French protestant who had taken refuge in Geneva ; he founded the bank Mallet Frères et Cie, which remained a family bank for the...
Turenne (1611-1675)
Turenne, a great military leader, was converted from Protestantism to Catholicism ; this experience was very significant for him.
Antoine Court de Gébelin (1724 or 1728-1784)
A scholar who served both religion and science.
Antoine Court (1695-1760)
Antoine Court gave himself to the restoration and reorganisation of Protestantism in France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685).
Pierre Jurieu (1637-1713)
Pierre Jurieu was a pastor of the “refuge” and defended the rights of the people in the kingdom of Louis XIV.
Pierre Bayle (1647-1706)
Pierre Bayle can be seen as a forerunner of the Age of Enlightenment because the concept of tolerance was of great importance to him and, a true scholar, he specialized...
Pierre Du Moulin (1568-1658)
Pierre Du Moulin was a scholar and a well known orator, but he is probably mostly remembered today as the first pastor of the Charenton temple.
Paul Rabaut (1718-1794)
As a pastor in the “Churches of the Desert”, Paul Rabaut lived a secret and dangerous life
Benjamin Du Plan (1688-1763)
Benjamin Du Plan belonged to a group of people who, although not pastors themselves, nevertheless contributed greatly to the rebirth of Protestantism in the Désert.
Jean-Paul Rabaut Saint-Étienne (1743-1793)
A champion of freedom of worship, Jean-Paul Rabaut, known as Saint-Étienne, fought against the discrimination which had excluded Protestants from French society since the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes...
Charles Drelincourt (1595-1669)
Charles Drelincourt, a writer and a pastor, spent his life serving the reformed Churches.
The Calas affair
Jean Calas, a Protestant merchant, was sentenced to death on the Wheel by the Parliament in Toulouse and executed on March 10th, 1762 after being convicted of murdering one of...
The Edict of Toleration (November 29th, 1787)
With this Edict, King Louis XVI granted the Protestants civil status. He secured their right to live in the kingdom without discrimination for religious reasons.
Denis Papin (1647-about 1712)
Denis Papin, a physicist, always remained loyal to his reformed faith and this is why he had to work abroad. It was in Germany, in the province of Hesse, that...