The magnificent Hôtel Poupet wasn't always the residence of Charente-Maritime's chief magistrate, and for good reason. During the country's administrative reorganisation in 1790, the city of Saintes was chosen as prefecture. However, in 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte's official visit to La Rochelle changed all that. Was it because he was so taken by the splendour of the mansion in which he stayed, or due to his fascination with the array of cannons on Chef de Baie beach? Some say that it was in fact the voluptuous figures of the town's women that turned the emperor's favour towards the city. No one knows for sure, but on 1 July 1810, the prefecture was definitively transferred to La Rochelle. Starting in 1816, Baron Richard, chief magistrate at the time, set up house in Hôtel Poupet, having successively carried out his functions at the episcopal palace (now a fine arts museum) and at the former commissariat on Rue Pernelle.
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