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Was Nicolas Desmarets, last Controller‑General of Louis XIVth’s reign, a weak and powerless minister, like many of his predecessors or did he play a crucial role in the decision‑making? To answer this question, it is necessary to look into the reasons which induced the king to promote this formerly disgraced man. Whereas most ministers were chosen according to the king’s taste, Colbert’s nephew owed his come back to his well-known financial expertise, at a time when the State was on the brink of bankruptcy. His reputation was further consolidated by the way he reorganised his administration and by his sense of duty. This gave him authority in the Conseil d’en haut at a time when it was becoming again an essential organ of decision. Desmarets’s expertise was crucial since it forced the king to change some political decisions and to adapt them to the financial realities of the State. Our man epitomizes a form of rationality which forced itself upon the king to the point of allowing him – or not – to enforce a project. Therefore Desmarets played an essential role in the decision‑making. His example proves that the line between administration and politics is much more porous than the usual opposition would have us believe.