Minister of Justice from 1800 to 1802, André Joseph Abrial carried the law of the Revolution into conquered Europe, refounding the courts of Italy, Belgium and Piedmont. On the stone, however, it is his son's name that is engraved, not his. A jurist born in Annonay in 1750, count under the Empire then peer of France, he passed through three regimes without a jolt and died in 1828.
The story
The grave holds father and son, and the inscription names only the son: “Ci git André Pierre Etienne Cte ABRIAL, pair de France, conseiller d'état, né à Paris le 5 Xbre 1783, mort le 26 Xbre 1840.” — here lies Count Abrial, peer of France, councillor of state. “Xbre” is the old abbreviation for December.
The father, André Joseph Abrial, born in 1750 at Annonay and trained in law, was minister of justice under the Consulate from 1800 to 1802. His weightiest task was not a French one: he reformed the judicial systems of the annexed countries — Italy, Belgium, Piedmont — carrying the law of the Revolution into conquered Europe.
A count under the Empire, a peer of France under Louis XVIII, he passed through three regimes with no visible break, as many lawyers of his generation did. He died in Paris on 13 November 1828 — twelve years before the son whose name the stone carries.
The grave
A grave that holds father and son, and whose inscription names only the second: “Here lies André Pierre Etienne Cte ABRIAL, peer of France, councillor of state, born in Paris on 5 Xbre 1783, died on 26 Xbre 1840.” Xbre is the old abbreviation for December. The Consulate's Minister of Justice, who died in 1828, does not appear: at Père-Lachaise it is not rare for a descendant to cover over the name of the principal dead in this way.
On site, do not miss
The inscription names not the minister but his son: “Here lies André Pierre Etienne Cte ABRIAL, peer of France, councillor of state.” The grave holds both.
Visitors' questions
Where is André Joseph Abrial's grave?
In Division 28, chemin du Dragon, seventh row — the Division of Beaumarchais and Brillat-Savarin. The inscription does not name him: it is in the name of his son, who died in 1840. He died in 1828 and rests in Division 28.
BeaumarchaisWhat did Abrial do as a minister?
He was Minister of Justice under the Consulate, from 1800 to 1802, and above all he reformed the judicial systems of the annexed territories — Italy, Belgium, Piedmont: the export of Revolutionary law to conquered Europe.
CambacérèsWho is named on the stone?
His son: “Ci git André Pierre Etienne Cte ABRIAL, pair de France, conseiller d'état, né à Paris le 5 Xbre 1783, mort le 26 Xbre 1840.” — here lies Count Abrial, peer of France, councillor of state. Xbre is the old abbreviation for December.
Boissy d’AnglasDid he serve under several regimes?
Three: minister under the Consulate, count under the Empire, peer of France under Louis XVIII. Like many jurists of his generation, he came through the changes of regime without any visible break.
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