, the founder of the French branch of the Rothschild banking dynasty. Through their collaborative efforts, the Rothschilds rose to prominence in a variety of banking endeavors including
loans,
government bonds and trading in
bullion. Their financing afforded investment opportunities and during the 19th century, they became major stakeholders in large-scale
mining and
rail transport ventures that were fundamental to the rapidly expanding industrial economies of Europe, as well as
wine growing and the
oil industry. The
French Revolution in 1789 brought positive changes for French Jews, resulting in their full emancipation in 1791. In 1806,
Napoleon I ordered the convening of a "
Grand Sanhedrin" in Paris and in 1808 he organized the "
Consistoire central des Israélites de France", the administrative agency for all French Jews. The consistorial system made
Judaism a recognized religion and placed it under government control. This Consistoire has been a functioning body ever since, except under the
Nazi occupation of France during
World War II. By tradition, the Central Consistoire has had a member of the Rothschild family as its president. Jacob Mayer Rothschild, the youngest son, settled in Paris in 1812 where his name Jacob was translated to James. In 1817, he formally created the bank, de Rothschild Frères whose partners were brothers
Amschel of
Germany,
James of
France,
Carl of
Naples,
Nathan of
England and
Salomon of
Austria. Highly successful as lenders and investors, the Paris operation also became bankers for
Leopold I of Belgium. In 1822 the influential James and his four brothers were awarded the hereditary title of "
Baron" by
Emperor Francis I of Austria. Following the
July Revolution of 1830 that saw
Louis-Philippe come to power in France, James de Rothschild put together the loan package to stabilize the finances of the new government and a second loan in 1834. In recognition of his services to the nation, King Louis-Philippe elevated James to a Grand Officer of the
Legion of Honor. There is a theory that before Louis-Phillipe came to power the Rothschilds were fronting for the House of Orleans. A major portion of the business has consisted of selling French government bonds to French investors through London to protect their anonymity. There was a general perception on the part of the French that otherwise their government might unilaterally reset terms. No French fortune was more likely to face the problem than the younger branch of the royal family. The theory follows that when the Orleanists came to power they became less provident but by then the Rothschilds had numerous other clients. The de Rothschild Frères banking business was passed down to ensuing generations. James Mayer de Rothschild had stipulated "that the three branches of the family descended from him always be represented." For the next two generations that was the case but in 1939,
Edouard Alphonse de Rothschild and cousin Robert-Philippe-Gustave de Rothschild, incompatible with their other cousin
Maurice de Rothschild, bought out his share. Maurice went on to be enormously successful and, having inherited a fortune from the childless Adolph Carl von Rothschild of the
Naples branch of the family, he moved to
Geneva,
Switzerland and perpetuated the new Swiss branch of the family. The French Rothschild family's business suffered a near death blow in 1981 when the Socialist government of
François Mitterrand nationalized and renamed it Compagnie Européenne de Banque. In 1987 a successor company called Rothschild & Cie Banque was created by
David René de Rothschild who was joined by his half-brother
Edouard de Rothschild and cousin Eric de Rothschild. Capitalized at only $1 million and starting with just three employees, they soon built their tiny investment bank into a major competitor in France and continental Europe. In 2003, following the retirement of
Sir Evelyn de Rothschild as head of N M Rothschild & Sons of London, the English and French firms merged into the Group Rothschild under the leadership of David René de Rothschild. In 2006, the French banking division expanded into Brussels, Belgium. ==Struggles for the French Rothschilds==