The Parlement of Brittany
Before its annexation to France in 1532, Brittany had a superior court of law known as the Parlement, presided over by a "universal judge". Charles VIII married Duchess Anne of Brittany in 1491. A year later, he reorganised the existing court and established the "Grands Jours". It was in March 1554, via the Edict of Fontainebleau, that Henry II established the Parlement of Brittany, a sovereign and provincial court of justice, whose role was to "uphold the customs and traditions of ancient France's regions". Royal edicts were also registered there and the court had the right to remonstrance against the King if local traditions were not respected.
Half of the Parlement's magistrates were native Bretons and half were non-natives, as ordained by the King, who was concerned by the former's desire for independence.
A century of building work (1618-1709)
When, in 1561, the Parlement was set up in Rennes, King Henry II incited the parliamentary nobility to build a palace worthy of their new political and legal duties. The plans of Germain Gaultier (1571-1624), consisting of four main buildings, connected by four corner pavilions surrounding an interior courtyard, were revised by Salomon de Brosse who preserved granite for the lower storey, but chose white tuffeau (tufa) stone for the upper storey. On the building's façade, a balustrade joined the two corner pavilions, supported by a double flight of stairs leading to a terrace. This staircase gave parliamentary noblemen direct access to the prosecutors' room. The ground floor served as a prison at the time.
Although the building was erected in 1655, the carpenters, sculptors, gilders and painters did not arrive in Rennes for the decorative finishes until 1709.
Following the fire in 1720, Gabriel who was in charge of the rebuilding work, designed a royal square worthy of Brittany's Parlement building.
He simplified the façade by removing the double flight of stairs, the terrace and the balustrade between the two corner pavilions, and erected Coysevox's statue of Louis XIV on horseback in the centre of the square. The palace bowing before the statue symbolised the parliamentarians bowing down before the King. The work also involved adding an inner staircase decorated with mascarons.
On 4 February 1994, a fire broke out in the night following clashes during a fishermen's demonstration. The fire smouldered behind the sun dial and finally caught the roof, burning the 17th-century oak framework and the vault of the Pas Perdus room. Some of the prestigious paintings, which were miraculously saved, have been restored to perfection.
The Appeal Court took up residence again on 4 October 1999. The restoration work in the interior and on the building façade enhanced the subtle diversity of colours so cherished in the 17th century, and was notably achieved with granite and Richemont stone, mascarons in the keystones, the sculpted frieze and the Maël-Carhaix "black" slate roof.