His family (on both his mother's and his father's side) had been very rich for several generations and had supplied lawyers and judges to the Parlement in Paris as well as to that in Lyon (then the second most important city in France).
Tema pere (nii ema ja isa pool) on olnud väga rikas mitmete põlvkondade ja olid esitanud advokaatide ja kohtunike Parlement Pariisis samuti, et Lyon (siis tähtsuselt teine linn Prantsusmaal).