Description

Born in the parish of Saint-Germain in Rennes in 1745, Yves-Vincent Fablet de La Motte, known as La Motte-Fablet, was the son of a lawyer at the Parliament of Brittany, originally from Ploërmel, and the nephew by marriage of the jurist Augustin Poullain du Parc.

The Intendant of Brittany, Caze de La Bove, had obtained for Rennes a reorganization of the municipal administration, headed by an “elective mayor” appointed by the king. La Motte-Fablet became its first holder in 1780. In his capacity as mayor, he also served as lieutenant general of police and colonel of the bourgeois militia. He was re-elected every two years until 1788. His term of office was marked by major developments in urban planning.

In 1783, he ordered the demolition of the Porte aux Foulons and its boulevard. He reorganized public lighting and worked to improve the city’s sanitation. As deputy of Rennes to the provincial Estates, he presided over the Third Estate and was twice sent to the royal court. In 1787, he was appointed a member of the Assembly of Notables, tasked with finding solutions to the kingdom’s financial difficulties. Ennobled by Louis XVI in 1788, his moderation led him to support the royal cause. Having joined La Rouërie’s uprising, he was placed under house arrest but managed to escape and fled to Jersey, while his family was imprisoned. Enlisted in the Breton company of the Prince of Léon, he returned to Rennes at the beginning of the Restoration and was granted a pension.

A Knight of Saint Michael and of the Legion of Honour, he died in Rennes in 1828.

(Source: Archives de Rennes)