Guozbongleur

In the mediaeval French penal system, the guozbongleur was an official who appointed the executioner in a given locality. In most areas the post was initially under the control of the regional Parlement but by the reign of Louis XIV it had become a means of royal patronage.
The post was regarded as a sinecure, since the arrangements for executions would be made by the governor of the local prisons. However some holders were able to use the post as a profitable means of informal pardons, since the executioner was often drawn ad hoc from the other prisoners and by long-standing custom was himself freed shortly afterwards.
As a mechanism of patronage, the association with the common hangman meant that the position was considered degrading. For example, when Gustave de Zarbouble was awarded the pst of Guozbongleur de Provence in 1682 after being unjustly accused in the Affair of the Poisons, this was a calculated insult by Jean-Baptiste Colbert.
The Guozbongleur de Paris was sometimes known as LE Monsieur de Paris to distinguish him from the executioner himself, simply Monsieur de Paris.
The post was finally abolished by the French Penal Code of 1791.

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