In the summer of 1692, Gabriel Boisot, procureur général of the Parlement of Besançon, wrote an unusual letter to his counterpart in Dijon. From his contacts at Versailles, the Bisontin had learned that the royal council had resolved to introduce venality of office to his corps. In exchange for converting their posts to heritable property, the royal treasury would charge a tax to each sitting judge and subaltern officer. Boisot was concerned about the possible effects of this decision not only on his personal finances but also on his family's long-term prospects. To assuage these worries, he bombarded his Burgundian colleague with questions about the basic characteristics of venal officeholding: How much did he pay for his charge? Did he meet a fixed price set by the king or did he negotiate one with the royal treasury? And what procedures could he follow to preserve this post within his own family?

Gabriel Boisot's dilemmas reflected the wider uncertainties of the elites of Franche-Comté as they entered a new era of French domination after 1688. Following its conquest, Louis XIV and his ministers had integrated the province into France with policies characterized by pragmatic opportunism. They had introduced a governor and an intendant to act as the representatives of royal power in Franche-Comté. But except for the key area of taxation, they had otherwise preserved much of the province's political system.