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In January 1809, the Banque de France opened its first comptoirs d’escompte in Rouen and Lyon; a third was founded in Lille in 1811. Whilst it is true that these comptoirs were to a large extent the product of the Napoleonic state, they were nonetheless the end result of several years of discussion and planning by the mother institution. The economic down turn (worsened by the slump of 1810-1811, and the entry of the allies into France in 1814…) prevented the creation of further branches; their limited profitability lead to them being dismantled at the beginning of the Restoration. The Banque de France expected its comptoirs to act as collectors of economic data and a such to act as a barometer of the financial climate, reporting on bankruptcies, the health of companies and local business confidence… Study of the comptoirs d’escompte makes its possible to get a precise vision of economic activity in provincial France during the last years of the Empire. Given the great length of this important article, it is to be published in Napoleonica. La Revue in two parts, part one in Issue 5 and part 2 in Issue 6.